Amphibians

Many land animals often venture into water, but only one group of land animals must spend part of their lives in the water in order to survive. These are the amphibians. The word “amphibian” comes from the root words “amphi” which means “of both kinds” and “bio” which means “life.”

Amphibians return to water to reproduce and their offspring begin their lives in water.

Amphibians are cold blooded, unable to regulate their body temperature while depending on their surroundings to gain or lose heat.

The amphibians consist of caecilians, newts and salamanders, and toads and frogs.

Caecilians are long and limbless and look like worms or snakes. Most live underground or underwater in wet tropical regions and have little or no vision.

Although the terms frog and toad are often used interchangeably, it is important to note that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.  There are several differences that make it easy to distinguish between the two.