AMPHIBIANS

“Living a Double Life”

Caecilians

Salamanders

Frogs

Amphibians are cold-blooded animals that live in moist environments and

have soft moist skin that is protected by a slippery secretion of mucus.

Defense!

Some amphibians have poison 'glands' on their skin (which taste bad or poison predators). Some also have bright colors to make predators wary.

There any many different kinds of frogs!!! All with

different cool colors and traits…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE5CZCL4bL4

Frogs spend most of their life on land, but lay their eggs in water.

Frog eggs are larvae in gilatinous-like clear eggs that need moisture so as not to dry out.

Frogs are distinct from other animals in the respect that they live “two

lives”...they go through... METAMORPHASIS… where

tadpoles develop a tail, live in water and eat algae, then grow fully into frogs, develop actual legs and move

onto land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTanXdFVEOw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ4sGjMinjk

Most live in burrows in tropical climates and some burrow into

soil on bottom of water

Caecilian ancestors had legs, but present day caecilians have no

legs and are almost blind

General Interesting Pointers

• Amphibians’ hearts have three chambers • Acid rain and decline in rainforests

threaten amphibians because they need to live in moist, wet environments

• Amphibians breathe not not only through lungs, but across their skin as well

• Most amphibians excrete "urea“ which is highly soluble in water and can be disposed with considerably little water loss

SOURCESPictures:

http://roomcandy.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/frog-eggs.jpg

http://www.thenighttour.com/drake_bay_costa_rica_red_ey.jpg

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/2040P3180022.jpg

http://homeschooljourney.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tadpole-to-frog.gif

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/herps/photos/salamanders/Eastern_Mud_Salamander_Pseudotriton_mlr.jpg

http://www.fansonline.net/images/darts/1dart.jpg

http://www.washingtonnh.org/WCC_Html//artwork/Spotted-salamander.jpg

http://synthreferee.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/poison-dart-frog2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/229268858_fe9385b38b.jpg

http://www.hsu.edu/uploadedImages/Biology/oophila%20and%20eggs%20detail.jpg

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/frog-1.jpg

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/caecilian2.jpgClips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE5CZCL4bL4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTanXdFVEOw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ4sGjMinjk