Amp.+Fun+Facts

The word amphibian means “living a double life." Amphibians are hibernating creatures. A hibernation is when a creature goes to sleep for one whole winter. When amphibians hibernate, they dig a hole underground. Then they go to sleep until spring. Most amphibians eat insects. The diet for some amphibians consists of snakes, worms, and other small animals. All amphibians eat. All amphibians try to avoid being eaten by birds, snakes and mammals, for adults, and fish and other small water creatures for larvae. To avoid being eaten, some amphibians use camouflage, and some use their poison glands. Some amphibians have voices and can sing to call to female amphibians. Some amphibians, like the long tailed salamander, have, well, long tails. Other amphibians, like many frogs and toads, loose their tails during metamorphosis. After their long life, amphibians return to the **EXCACT** same place they were born to lay **THEIR** eggs. Amphibians do NOT get married. Poison gland amphibians have red, blue, and orange skin. Many frogs can live for 5 or 10 years. Some frogs and toads can live up to thirty years. Neither frogs nor toads can give you warts. Only the reed frog can change from male to female. South American indians use the skin secretions of poison dart frogs on the tips of their arrows to kill animals. Amphibians developed from the coelacanth and lungfish in the Devonian period. The order Apodia is made up of caecilians. Newts and salamanders make up the order Urodela. Frogs and toads are in the order Anura. There are 170 living species of caecilians. There are about 360 species of Newts and salamanders. There are species of frogs and toads. All together there are 35,000 species of amphibians. Amphibians are becoming extinct, so it is important we save them and the places they live. A caecilian is also an amphibian. Frogs, toads, and salamanders have either smooth or warty skin. They lay unshelled eggs usually in the water. Amphibians are cold-blooded. Native amphibians do well in room temperatures from 65˚F to around 75˚F, if you wanted to keep one as a pet. The African Giant is the biggest frog. It can grow to 26 inches long and weigh as much as 10 lbs. The Bull Frog is the largest Frog in North America. It can weigh up to 1.2 lbs and grow up to 18 inches long. Frogs have teeth on their upper jaws but none on their lower but, Toads have no teeth. Toads have relatively short legs and cant jump as high as frogs. Back to Home Page