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Amphibians are vertebrate animals, that can live in both aquatic (water) as well as terrestrial (land) environments. The name amphibian is derived from the Ancient Greek word ‘amphibios’ meaning living a dual life. Examples of amphibians are caecilians, frogs, toads and salamanders.

Quick Facts about Amphibians

The first amphibians came into existence in the Devonian period (416-359.2 million years ago). It is believed that amphibians evolved from fish. Here are some interesting facts about amphibians.

• The earliest frog was known to evolve about 190 million years ago, in the Jurassic period.
• Amphibians possess a three-chambered heart and most species have two lungs (except in some that have no lungs or possess reduced lungs).
• Frogs differ from toads in their habitat and skin texture. Most of their lifetime, frogs live in water and have smooth skin; whereas, toads live mostly on land and possess rough skin.
• During extreme climatic conditions, frogs enter into a resting state or dormancy, called as estivation.
• A frog in a dormant state requires very little oxygen for breathing, which is achieved through cutaneous gas exchange (breathing via skin).
• Unlike the typical amphibians that lack claws, some amphibian species like the African clawed frogs have claws.
• There are some frog species that have a baggy pouch in their pelvis for storing water in times of need.
• The Mascarene frog can leap to more than 17 feet in a single jump. Several frog species can leap to about 20 times their body length in one go.
• The Reed frog has the ability to change its sex as per the need.
• Unlike other lizards, tails of salamanders lack fracture zones. they have the ability to regenerate their limbs.
• Though female toads hardly make noise, male toads are known to be one of the noisiest amphibians.
• Most amphibians are good bio-indicators (organisms that tell something about the area they live in), as they are adapt to conditions in water as well as on land. Read the rest of this entry »