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Amphibians
"Metamorphosize
your way down the page."
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Amphibians
are creatures that live part of their life in water and part of their life
on land. The first part of their life is spent in the water when
they have gills. As they mature they develop lungs. The second
part of the their life is spent on land or both on land and in the water.
There
are three living orders of amphibians. They are the tailed amphibians,
which are salamanders, newts, and sirens; tailless amphibians, which are
frogs and toads; and the caecilians, which are the limbless worm like amphibian.
Amphibian's
skin is smooth and moist and some caecilians have small scales embedded
in the skin folds of the body. The inside of the skin of the amphibians
has many blood vessels, which help with respiration. They also have
mucous glands that keep the skin moist. Some have granular glands
that secrete a fluid that is irritating and poisonous. Skin color
can change by expansion or contraction. The outer part of the skin
is continually being shed and renewed. Sometimes the skin is shed
in large patches that may be eaten by the amphibian. Some salamanders
can regenerate whole limbs.
The
digestive, skeletal, muscular, nervous, and other systems of amphibians
are similar to those of higher animals. Because of this biology students
study the frog to learn about these systems.
Amphibians
are cold-blooded animals like reptiles. Their body temperature is like
the temperature in their environment. Amphibians that live in cool
areas hibernate through the winter.
Most
amphibians spend a lot of their lives in wet surroundings. They lay
their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into larvae, breathe through
gills, and are herbivorous. Most change (Metamorphose) and grow into
air breathing adults. As adults they are carnivorous and eat insects,
slugs, and worms.
Microsoft
Encarta Encyclopedia 99.
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