Find the answers in the text. |
Amphibians
Amphibian means '2 lives'. Most amphibians begin their life in water. When they grow up they have a life on land.
There are different kinds of amphibians. Frogs and toads are amphibians.
There are different kinds of amphibians. Frogs and toads are amphibians.
Why is it said that amphibians have two lives?
A frog
A toad
Newts and salamanders are amphibians too.
A newt
A salamander
All amphibians have a backbone.
A frog's backbone
Most amphibians: - have smooth, moist skin; - are cold-blooded; and - lay soft eggs in water. |
Where do they lay their eggs?
Soft eggs
Being cold-blooded means that amphibians need to get warm from the warmth of the sun. If they get too hot, they have to find shade to help them cool down.
How does an amphibian become warm?
Most amphibians start their life in water.
Frog tadpoles hatching from the soft eggs
They breathe through gills.
A baby newt has gills.
Their bodies then change – they grow legs and their tails shrink.
When an amphibian is born how does it breathe?
When they become adults they can live on land. An adult stops breathing through gills. An adult has now grown lungs to breathe air on land.
The big changes to their bodies is called metamorphosis. |
Adult amphibians can still swim in water.
What is the change to an amphibian's body called?
A grown-up newt
Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Baby amphibians eat plants in water. Adult amphibians eat other animals such as insects.
Some amphibians are poisonous. The poison in their bodies may kill a predator if it tries to eat them. Their bright skin warns predators to stay away.
The blue poison dart frog
What might happen to a predator if it eats an amphibian with bright skin?
Odd amphibians
The axolotl (say ax-oa-lot-all) is a very odd amphibian. Like other amphibians it grows lungs when it gets older. But unlike other amphibians it keeps its gills for all its life. Its gills stick out like feathers.
Axolotls live in Mexico.
How is an axolotl different to other amphibians?
A Surinam horned frog
This frog is fat. It lies in wait for its prey and tries to eat all sorts of small animals. It may even try to eat a mouse!
More frogs