Dictionary of Terms

Anura:  One of the orders of amphibians characterized by the absence of a tail, as the frogs and toads.

Aquatic: relating to creatures that live in water.

Bufo: A genus of Amphibia including various species of toads.

Burrow:  pronounced (bûr , b r ) 1.A hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a small animal, such as a rabbit or mole, for habitation or refuge. 2.A narrow or snug place. 

Caecilian:  pronounced (s -s l y n, -s l - n, -s l -)Any of various legless, burrowing, wormlike amphibians of the order Gymnophiona, of tropical regions.  

Genera:  pronounced (jeh nE rE)

A group of closely related animals or plants, composed of one or more species

Chordate: pronounced kor det

Definition:  of or denoting an animal, such as a tunicate, lancelet, or vertebrate, that at some stage of development has gill slits, a dorsal nerve cord, and a notochord.

Cloaca:  pronounced klo e kE The cavity into which the intestinal,urinary, and reproductive tracts open in birds, reptiles, fish, and amphibians.

Fertilization:

1. The act or process of rendering fertile.

2. The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable germs; esp., the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation.

Genera:  pronounced (jeh nE rE) A group of closely related animals or plants, composed of one or more species

Gills:   The breathing organ of fish and other animals that live in water, consisting of a plate-like, saclike, or feathery protrusion.

Glands: an organ in an animal's body that synthesises a substance for release, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavity inside the body or outer surface

Grooves: A long narrow hollow space cut into a surface.

Hibernate:   pronounced hai bEr net 1. to remain dormant over the winter in a den or burrow so as to conserve energy, as bears and other animalsto remain dormant over the winter in a den or burrow so as to conserve energy, as bears and other animals

2. to be inactive or in seclusion.

Larvae:  pronounced lar va 1. A newly hatched, wingless insect, often in the form of a worm, before it undergoes metamorphosis into its adult form.   2. The young of other animals that undergo metamorphosis, at a similarly immature stage.

Poisonous: Pronounced poy zE nEs 1.Filled with or containing poison.   2. Injurious; destructive; deadly.   3. Full of malice; vicious; venomous

Regenerate: Pronounced ri jeh nE ret  To grow (new tissue or parts) to replace lost or injured tissue or parts.

Salamander: pronounced sae lE maen dEr

 any of a variety of small amphibians that have a long tail and moist scaleless skin, and that look like lizards

Scales: pronounced (sk l) One of the many small plate-like dermal or epidermal structures that characteristically form the external covering of fishes, reptiles, and certain mammals.  

Species: pronounced (sp sh z, -s z)

A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding. See table at taxonomy.

Tadpole:  pronounced  'tad-"pOl  A larval amphibian; specifically : a frog or toad larva that has a rounded body with a long tail bordered by fins and external gills soon replaced by internal gills and that undergoes a metamorphosis to the adult.

Temperate: Pronounced tehm pE riht

Characterized by moderate temperatures and relatively mild weather.

Vertebrate: pronounced vuhr tE bret 1. having a backbone.  2. a member of the large group of animals that have a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes.

Vertebrata: 1. One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom, comprising all animals that have a backbone composed of bony or cartilaginous vertebrae, together with Amphioxus in which the backbone is represented by a simple undivided notochord. The Vertebrata always have a dorsal, or neural, cavity above the notochord or backbone, and a ventral, or visceral, cavity below it. The subdivisions or classes of Vertebrata are Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces, Marsipobranchia, and Leptocardia.