Today I am going to talk about amphibians. Personally I do not really care for this group of creepy and crawly animals but, before you say eew, just wait and listen to what I have to say. You might think that the only amphibians are frogs and possibly toads, well they are not. Actually frogs and toads are a group of amphibians. There are three groups of amphibians. They are frogs and toads, newts and salamanders and caecilians. I am going to talk about each one of these groups.
Amphibians are vertebrates that spend part of their lives under water breathing with gills and the remainder on land breathing with lungs. Amphibians are sort of like shape shifters because during their early lives they slowly change their shape to prepare for life on land. Adult amphibians rarely stray from damp places because they have to keep their skin moist and they usually return to the water to breed. They are about 4,350 species of amphibians. I must say that is a lot of critters. They are very common in warm places. They are also cold blooded which means that their bodies stay the same temperature as their surroundings.
Frogs and toads make up about 90 percent of the world's amphibians. This just increased my chances of accidentally stepping on a toad or frog in my lifetime. My mom said this was the worst feeling ever when she stepped on a toad without any shoes on.
Frogs and toads are easy to recognize by their short, tailless bodies and powerful back legs. Most of them have back feet with weds between their toes. These web feet are used for swimming and jumping. Frogs usually move by hopping around. They also live either on the ground or in trees. Toads usually move by crawling and nearly always live on the ground. Toads and frogs have loud calls which are used during the breeding season to attract a mate. Ribbit, ribbit ......
Most people do not know the difference between a frog and a toad. Frogs and toads are very different in the way they look and size. Unlike frogs, most toads have warty skin and short back legs and spend most of their lives on land. They usually feed at night when the air is damp and hide away during the day. Here is a picture of frog.
Opps wrong picture. That is a picture of my favorite frog. Lets try this again.
Now this is a picture of a toad. Check out his warty skin.
Unlike frogs and toads, salamanders keep their tails when they are adults. Salamanders have long bodies and four and sometimes two legs. That is werid. As adults some live in the damp woods but spend most of their lives in ponds and steams. There are over 400 species of salamanders found all over the world.
Newts are simply brightly colored salamanders. These small amphibians are found in moist, wooded areas in North America, Europe, and Asia. Newts are about 3 to 4 inches long. They have four legs and four fingers on each of the front legs. They also have five toes on each of their back legs.
Like all amphibians, newts spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. Newt eggs are laid in the water. When they hatch, they breathe with gills and swim. As they mature, they develop lungs for breathing air.
Both newts and salamanders eat insects, worms, snails, and small fish.
Chek out these picture of a newt and salamander.
This group of amphabians are rare and there are only 150 species. They look like giant earthworms because they have no legs and their bodies are divided into rings. Caecilians live mainly in the tropics. Some live in the water but most of them burrow through the soil. This is a picture of a caecilian.
Amphibians are vertebrates that spend part of their lives under water breathing with gills and the remainder on land breathing with lungs. Amphibians are sort of like shape shifters because during their early lives they slowly change their shape to prepare for life on land. Adult amphibians rarely stray from damp places because they have to keep their skin moist and they usually return to the water to breed. They are about 4,350 species of amphibians. I must say that is a lot of critters. They are very common in warm places. They are also cold blooded which means that their bodies stay the same temperature as their surroundings.
Frogs and Toads
Frogs and toads make up about 90 percent of the world's amphibians. This just increased my chances of accidentally stepping on a toad or frog in my lifetime. My mom said this was the worst feeling ever when she stepped on a toad without any shoes on.
Frogs and toads are easy to recognize by their short, tailless bodies and powerful back legs. Most of them have back feet with weds between their toes. These web feet are used for swimming and jumping. Frogs usually move by hopping around. They also live either on the ground or in trees. Toads usually move by crawling and nearly always live on the ground. Toads and frogs have loud calls which are used during the breeding season to attract a mate. Ribbit, ribbit ......
Frogs and toads spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. When eggs are laid in the water they hatch into tadpoles. Tadpoles breathe with gills and swim using a tail. As they grow up, they lose their tail sand then they develop lungs for breathing air.
This is something that I did not know. Most frogs have teeth in the upper jaws only but toads do not have any teeth. They both eat insects by catching them with their long, sticky tongue. They also eat small fish and worms. Most people do not know the difference between a frog and a toad. Frogs and toads are very different in the way they look and size. Unlike frogs, most toads have warty skin and short back legs and spend most of their lives on land. They usually feed at night when the air is damp and hide away during the day. Here is a picture of frog.
Opps wrong picture. That is a picture of my favorite frog. Lets try this again.
Now this is a picture of a toad. Check out his warty skin.
Newts and Salamanders
Unlike frogs and toads, salamanders keep their tails when they are adults. Salamanders have long bodies and four and sometimes two legs. That is werid. As adults some live in the damp woods but spend most of their lives in ponds and steams. There are over 400 species of salamanders found all over the world.
Newts are simply brightly colored salamanders. These small amphibians are found in moist, wooded areas in North America, Europe, and Asia. Newts are about 3 to 4 inches long. They have four legs and four fingers on each of the front legs. They also have five toes on each of their back legs.
Like all amphibians, newts spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. Newt eggs are laid in the water. When they hatch, they breathe with gills and swim. As they mature, they develop lungs for breathing air.
Both newts and salamanders eat insects, worms, snails, and small fish.
Chek out these picture of a newt and salamander.
Caecilians
This group of amphabians are rare and there are only 150 species. They look like giant earthworms because they have no legs and their bodies are divided into rings. Caecilians live mainly in the tropics. Some live in the water but most of them burrow through the soil. This is a picture of a caecilian.
I hope that you have enjoyed learning about amphibians. Come back to visit soon.
