Pickerel Frog

How to identify

• Two parallel rows of square or rectangular dark spots on back
• Bright yellow or orange on inner thighs and groin — visible when frog jumps
• Tan or light brown background color
• Dorsolateral ridges present
• Medium size, 1.75–3.5 inches

About this species

The pickerel frog is Virginia's only mildly toxic frog — its skin secretions are distasteful to predators and can irritate the eyes and mouth of an animal that tries to eat it. It is identified by two parallel rows of square or rectangular dark spots on a tan or brown background, and bright yellow or orange coloring in the groin and on the inner thighs.

Often confused with

Did you know

"Pickerel frogs are the only Virginia frog with genuinely unpalatable skin secretions — they are one of the few native frogs that predators like garter snakes will refuse to eat."

Sightings & citizen science

Help document Virginia wildlife by logging your sightings on iNaturalist. Every observation builds the conservation data that researchers and rehabbers depend on.