Amphibians or amphibians are animals that live both in water and on land, there are about five thousand known species of them. These include frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, there are more little known species amphibians - legless caecilians. Amphibians lay their eggs in water, such as a pond or stream. They cannot live in salt water, so they are not in the seas. Newts and salamanders, unlike frogs and toads, do not lose their tails when they grow up. Newts are more attached to water than other amphibians, they are almost completely aquatic animals.

Worms

Worms are little-known amphibians, there are only 100 species, while frogs - 6000, newts and salamanders - about 500 species.

They can live in water as well as on the surface of the earth, but mostly live underground, so they do not have eyes. Hearing is also poor, but a very good sense of smell.

Worms in general dark colors, but there are a small number of yellow and blue amphibians of this species.

They live in the tropics in a humid environment. They eat earthworms and shellfish.

Small worms are born alive or hatch from eggs.

Newts are often confused with lizards. But lizards are reptiles, newts are amphibians. Tritons live in areas with temperate climate, in winter they hide under branches and stones and hibernate.

Three species of newts live in Russia - Asia Minor, crested and ordinary. The crested newt is considered the most beautiful - it has a large dorsal crest, the belly is yellow or orange.

Newts are quite defenseless animals, so they need to be resourceful in order to protect their offspring. The female newt hides eggs in natural shelters in the pond, and if there are few hiding places, she wraps them in the leaves of plants that grow in the water.

Tritons can be seen quite rarely, but if there is a body of water that is suitable for them to live in, for example, a large and deep puddle with clean water, several dozen individuals can gather in one place.

Newts can regrow a lost body part. They can freeze into the ice in winter, but in the spring they thaw and continue their normal existence. In heat without water, newts can dry out almost completely, but after rain they quickly resume.

salamanders

The fire salamander is widespread in Russia. According to one version, she got such a name because she hides under logs and, if they are used to make a fire, they are forced to quickly run away from the heat. But it is also possible that this name was given to them because of the bright spots on the skin or because special glands near the eyes secrete a poison that can cause a burning sensation in a person if it gets on the mucous membrane.

Salamanders love more warm climate than tritons. They do not hibernate in winter. But, probably, in such a cold climate as the Ukrainian Carpathians, where they are found, they are inactive in frosts. In cold weather, they gather in groups of several tens or hundreds of individuals under the roots of trees and a thick layer of fallen leaves.

The largest amphibian animal is the gigantic salamander, it reaches a length of almost two meters, weighing up to seventy kilograms. She lives in ponds East China.

Salamanders in the past were considered very poisonous. They actually have venom glands behind their eyes that secrete a small amount of burning fluid. This poison is a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis, arrhythmia and convulsions in an animal that tries to eat it. Despite this, she is already hunted, predatory fish, wild boars, birds. For humans, salamanders do not pose a serious danger, but if it gets on the mucous membrane, the poison can cause a burning sensation, in addition, allergic reactions are possible. So it's better not to risk it and not take it into your hands.

Salamanders usually feed on insects, but may also eat small frogs and newts.

Despite the fact that the salamander is an amphibian, it does not swim well, it can even drown in deep water. Reservoirs are used only for spawning.

Frogs and toads

Interesting Facts about amphibians - frogs and toads.

Frogs and toads are very similar, but there are some differences between them. Toads have drier skin, they have small growths that people mistakenly call warts, but still this incorrect name has taken root. Among the toads there are poisonous individuals, and the skin is covered with poison, apparently so that no one eats the animal. Due to the fact that the hind legs of toads are not as long as those of frogs, they seem to walk, and do not move in jumps, due to this, mobility is less. The body is shorter and more close to the ground. These two species also differ in laying eggs - toads lay eggs in the form of a cord, on which the eggs are fixed in pairs, while frogs - in the form of a cloud in a pond.

In the Amazonian forests live very poison dart frogs. Their coloration is bright, which is a warning to predators that they are not food, but a dangerous poison. The Indians smeared their arrows with this deadly dangerous poison scraping it off the skin. The record holder for poisonousness lives in Colombia - the poison of one leaf frog called ukoki is enough to process 50 arrows.

IN tropical forests frogs that live in trees can do without nearby water bodies, but still settle in places with high moisture. This is due to the fact that they breathe not only with lungs, but also with skin, which for normal operation respiratory function should be hydrated.

With the help of their hind legs, frogs can jump well, which helps them to move around, as well as run away from predators - in a moment this animal can jump from a high bank into a pond and be out of reach.

The fry hatched from the eggs look like a fish, because they have a long tail, when they grow up, the tail disappears.

The largest individuals belong to the goliath species. They are almost a meter in length from the tip of the outstretched paws to the tip of the nose (these are the largest individuals, usually 20-30 centimeters less), weight - up to three kilograms. The smallest is found in Brazil, it is less than one centimeter long.

Tree frogs cannot hide in the water in case of danger, so they camouflage themselves - the skin color often matches the color of the surrounding foliage. In South America, the cocked tree frog lives, the skin color of which is similar to tree bark, which makes it invisible on the tree trunk.

In case of danger, one of the frog species can fly a little through the air - there are webs on the paws, which have enough area with the paws open for successful planning from a tree.

The Darwin frog lives in Chile, the male of which bears eggs in its mouth until small tadpoles are born.

There is a barking tree frog that makes sounds similar to barking. Similar sound effects are created by head bags that inflate so much that the size of the animal doubles.

IN North America the bull frog lives. She feeds on fish, shellfish, sometimes even chicks. The name comes from the fact that it makes sounds similar to the lowing of a bull. These predators reach a length of 20 centimeters, weight - up to 700 grams.

The screaming frog, which lives in North America, is so oriented in space that it gets to its habitat even if it is brought a short distance from home (but into a completely unfamiliar area).

In South Suriname lives a blue dart frog that glows in bright light like phosphorus. The skin of a beautiful dark sapphire color emits poison, which is dangerous for natural predators and for humans.

Animals adapted to life both in water and on land evoke mixed feelings in people: amphibians are so different from other life forms that they often become heroes science fiction films or horror films. Their second name - amphibians - means " double life”, which perfectly illustrates their behavior and type of development. Amphibians have interesting features, unusual appearance, behavior, physiology, so you can learn something new and incredible about them almost endlessly.

60 million years ago, amphibians were the full owners of the Earth, being in a numerical advantage. Then among them were specimens of a size that would now cause modern man horror. The average length of an amphibian of those times was about 2 meters, and the largest representatives had bodies up to 15 meters in length. Despite their huge size, they were extremely vulnerable, so with the advent of the first natural enemies began to disappear catastrophically. Until now, they remain the class that disappears from the face of the Earth the fastest.

This species of amphibians - rheobatrachus or caring frogs - was discovered only in 1973. While observing them, zoologists had an amazing discovery: rheobatrachus hatch their offspring in the stomach. It is this amazing fact explains the name of the species.

The bearing of cubs lasts about 2 months, and this period for females becomes a difficult test: the amphibian completely stops feeding and lives off the available reserves nutrients. During such a "fast" in the stomach of the female, about 40 eggs develop, from which tadpoles appear. So that the babies do not dissolve in the gastric juice, the secretion of the glands completely stops, and instead of digestive enzymes, prostaglandin E2 is produced - a substance in which the young feel cozy and comfortable.

After the babies have skin, it also begins to produce prostaglandin, helping the mother. The restless offspring in the stomach behaves extremely actively, therefore, from the outside, the rheobatrachus looks strange: its body is shaking, it sticks out in different directions. This picture is worthy of any horror movie.

When the tadpoles turn into fully formed frogs, the mother gently pushes them outside, where they finally become independent.

Incredible regeneration

The class of amphibians is known for its ability to renew lost organs and quickly restore tissues. But even against the background of all other representatives of the class, the crested newt stands out far ahead due to its amazing regeneration abilities.

In the surrounding nature, he has many enemies, so injuries and damage to the body for this amphibian are not uncommon. Scientists have noticed that healing occurs at a speed that is simply amazing. After that, numerous laboratory studies began, during which it was possible to establish that the crested newt can grow anew almost any organ. After the complete loss of paws or tail, they are restored in 3-4 months. Even after both eyes were completely removed, they grew in 10 months and were in no way inferior to those that were before: the amphibian could see with them in the same way.

And even on this amazing properties crested newt did not end. If in the reservoir where he lives, the water freezes and the animal turns into ice, then after thawing it continues to live, as if nothing had happened. If a severe drought occurs, the newt turns into a dried mummy, which, it would seem, will never come to life. But after the first rain, it restores all the tissues of the body and continues to live and multiply.

Honeycombs on the back

Pipa toad does not trust environment in the responsible business of raising offspring, preferring to ensure the safety of her children herself. While the male is spawning, the female puts her back under the stream of eggs, and the male carefully presses them directly into the skin of the female. A few hours later, her back outwardly resembles a honeycomb, in which from 40 to 144 eggs are securely hidden.

She bears the pipa of her children for 80 days. During this time, they manage to hatch from eggs, turn into tadpoles and become fully formed individuals. Mom's back swells more and more, and it becomes very difficult for her to move, as her weight increases by almost 3 times. Nutrition and oxygen to the cubs come from the mother's body, so during the months of gestation, the pipa is very depleted.

After the babies become sufficiently formed, they break through the film and actively get out, spreading in different directions. This is how their long independent life begins, in which they will be able to acquire their own offspring only after 6 years of age.

Spiked Behemoths

Crested newts living in China lead a predominantly aquatic lifestyle. Their females are no different from most newts, but the males look different: they have a spiked crest on their backs that grows to an impressive size during the mating season.

The body length of this amazing amphibian is from 11 to 20 cm, and the spiked crest reaches 2 cm. When these animals begin mating season, they often crawl out onto the banks of water bodies, spreading their crest, which acquires a brighter color than usual.

It was during this period that these awesome appearance amphibians can be stumbled upon by people who often experience mystical horror, because crested newts resemble small dragons and look intimidating. Several centuries ago, for this reason, they were massively exterminated, mistaking them for manifestations of evil spirits, which affected their numbers.

Above and Beyond

The Javan flying frog is one of the few amphibians that can soar like a bird. Of course, this is not the full-fledged flight characteristic of birds, but with the help of its adaptations, an amphibian can perfectly plan.

With a size of only 10-12 cm, the Javanese flying frog can soar at a distance of as much as 12 m. To do this, during the jump, it spreads the membranes on the fingers of all four paws, catching air currents. total area interdigital membranes of this small amphibian is 19 cm 2. Thanks to this amazing ability, she can catch up with any insect of interest to her, so the flying huntress is not in danger of starvation.

The beauty and the Beast

An amazing amphibian called the American Proteus is both a beauty and a beast. Among salamanders, it ranks second in size: the body of an amazing amphibian is about 40 cm. The salamander does not look very attractive, since it has very small eyes located on a large grayish head. But on the cheeks there are gill outgrowths, painted in bright red. It is these beautiful outgrowths that unmistakably indicate belonging to the species.

For a long time, scientists considered the American Proteus to be a larval form of another amphibian species, but then it was found that it was an independent biological unit. Unlike other salamanders, in the American Proteus, the surface of the skin does not contain toxic substances that help scare away predators, so it often has to hide from birds or predatory fish.

Another interesting fact is known about the American Proteus: it is the only salamander capable of making rather loud sounds. They resemble the barking of a small dog, for which in America this amphibian is called the "squealing puppy."

Blind worker

The purple frog was discovered as recently as 2003. The reason that she went unnoticed for so long was a special way of life in which the amphibian spends most of its life in burrows and pits.

The appearance and shape of the body does not particularly resemble ordinary frogs, since the head is very small with a pointed muzzle, and the body looks like a shapeless jelly mass. It looks like a very clumsy amphibian, but in reality it is not at all like that. With a body size of up to 9 cm, this amphibian is able to dig a hole 3.7 m deep in just a couple of minutes. To do this, it works very actively with its front and hind legs. The purple frog crawls out to the surface from holes and pits extremely rarely, since its small eyes see almost nothing. Only the need for reproduction can force her to leave her home, since the mating season takes place on the surface of the earth. After the breeding instinct is satisfied, the amazing animal again hides at a safe depth, where there is enough dampness and coolness.

Vanishing Giant

The largest creature among amphibians is the gigantic salamander. Its length can reach 160 cm, while its tail is not long, so most of this length falls on the body and head. Due to such huge size and weight, the amphibian is impressive - about 180 kg. His life expectancy most often lasts from 55 to 60 years.

It was these amazing amphibians that appeared many millions of years ago and were able to survive the heyday of the reptile era and the death of dinosaurs, successfully adapting to changing living conditions. But now hovering over them new threat, with which this species copes less successfully. The fact is that the meat of the gigantic salamanders is very tender and soft, which caused the mass destruction of the population in Japan and China, where these amphibians live. So far, the situation cannot be changed by the fact that the gigantic salamander was included in the international Red Book and taken under the protection of the law.

In addition to the barbaric attitude on the part of people, the deterioration of the state of natural reservoirs has seriously affected the number of the species, since these amphibians can only live in clean water no industrial pollutants. In order to somehow rectify the situation, a huge nursery for breeding giant salamanders was created in China, where they are kept in ideal conditions and successfully reproduce.

dangerous kid

Zimmerman's poison dart frog is considered one of the most poisonous frogs on the planet. Its body size is only 2 cm, but it is easy to notice this amphibian in nature due to its bright colors. The beautiful blue and green color and the large spots on its back look like it's straight out of a children's coloring book, but the amphibian is by no means safe.

On the surface of her skin contains a strong poison batrachotoxin, which can cause a spasm of the heart muscles in humans and cause rapid respiratory arrest. This fact was discovered by the Indians of Peru, who learned to use it to their advantage: they passed an arrow through the body of a poison dart frog, after which it became deadly for enemies and capable of killing the enemy in a few seconds.

There are amphibians, which are known only to zoologists - caecilians. What distinguishes them from the rest of the class complete absence limbs, so in appearance they are more like a cross between snakes and earthworms. The largest representative has a length of 1.55 m and looks creepy.

Such amphibians can live in the soil, inside anthills or termite mounds. Worm eyes almost do not see, but these animals have an excellent sense of smell, allowing them to find worms that serve as food for them.

In many species of worms, hatched babies eat at first skin covering mother, which is the best food for them. At the same time, they do not harm their parent, as they eat only the top layer, rejuvenating her skin.

The study of amphibians does not stop, so every year scientists discover new amazing species that have survived to this day far from human eyes.

Frogs, in the narrow sense, are called only representatives of the family of real frogs (Ranidae).

Frogs are amphibians that inhabit almost all parts of the world. They live everywhere - in reservoirs or swamps, on the ground, even at a depth of several meters in a hard layer of clay, on trees.

Tailless move different ways. Depending on their habitat, they jump, run, walk, swim, burrow, climb trees, or glide.

Tailless considered the best jumpers of all vertebrates (by the length of the jump relative to body size). The Australian frog Litoria nasuta can jump more than 50 times its body length (5.5 cm). Jump acceleration can reach 20 m/s 2 .

The frog starts its life in the water. From the eggs laid in the water, a tadpole develops, similar to a fish fry. A series of transformations, consisting of about thirty transitional stages, helps the frog to adapt to life on land, and the tadpole turns from a "fish" into a land animal.

The tadpole breathed through gills, while the adult frog breathes through its mouth, lungs, and skin. Such a large set of respiratory organs is characteristic only of amphibians. While the frog is in the water, it breathes through the skin, and when it is on land, it breathes through the mouth and lungs. The circulatory system is also universal. Two parts of the heart work in water, and mixed blood flows through the body. On land, the left atrium is connected to the work, and the blood that is already purely arterial, saturated with oxygen, enters the brain. Thus, with each dive, the frog's respiratory organs are instantly turned off.

The skin of frogs is naked and covered with mucus, and therefore their activity depends on humidity and air temperature. It hunts at dusk, as the coolness increases. In cold and dry weather, frogs hide in shelters.

The color of the body is affected not only by temperature, but also by the background color, and illumination, and humidity. Frogs perceive changes in these factors directly with their skin.

When wintering time comes, the frog sinks to the bottom of the reservoir.

One of the most original adaptations to living conditions in the boundary zone between land and water is the hearing aid of the frog. It turns out that she perceives sound signals through three channels. IN air environment sound waves picked up by the cells of the inner ear eardrum and ear bone. Sounds propagating through the soil are perceived by the bones and muscles of the limbs and transmitted through the bones of the skull to the inner ear.

Frogs are unpretentious and illegible in food, they can starve for a day or a week. They eat butterflies, bees, wasps and other moving insects. The lake frog devours fry of fishes.

As soon as a frog grabs an unsuspecting insect, it must blink: the eyelids push the eyeballs up to the top of the mouth and actually help push the food down the throat. By the way, the eyes of frogs are larger than the stomach.

Most frogs have teeth in their upper jaws, but these are mainly used to lock prey in their mouths and prevent them from escaping before the eyeballs push them towards the stomach.

The first monument to frogs was built at the University of Paris, at the Sorbonne, in the 19th century (pictured). It was erected (as is supposed) at the insistence of the famous French naturalist Claude Bernard. This is how the scientist thanked his experimental animals. After all, he owed them a number of important discoveries.

The second monument was erected quite recently in Tokyo by medical students. For their experiments, they used 100,000 frogs, in honor of which the monument was erected.

The largest representative of the frog world is the goliath frog (Conraua goliath). This giant frog can weigh more than three kilograms, its length is about 90 cm. Strong legs of the goliath frog allow it to make jumps three meters long.

The bullfrog, or bullfrog, is one of the largest tailless amphibians. In length, it reaches 20.3 centimeters and weighs up to one and a half kilograms. This frog is one of the most common laboratory animals in North America. So, only in 1973, more than 10,000 individuals of this species were destroyed in the universities of California for educational and scientific purposes. But they also eat these animals actively. Fishing out different ways(with fishing rods, nets, nets, traps) or by killing with a gun, these frogs have been hunted for festive table. Until now, about a hundred million bullfrogs are harvested in the United States annually. However, it is necessary to have a license to catch them and conduct it within the terms strictly defined by law and by permitted methods. In the last decades of the last century, even frog farms were created. The commercial weight of the frog "goby" reaches only the third or fourth year of life. Only the meat of the hind limbs is eaten, which is even exported to other countries. These frogs also participate in frog races - jumping competitions. In one jump, some individuals are able to cover a distance of four meters. Bullfrogs are well tamed. So, for example, when kept in groups, they learned to come to the feeding place only when people appeared in the laboratory, and on weekends the frogs did not approach the feeder. For bullfrogs, the phenomenon of homing is still characteristic (from the English homing - a sense of home) - the ability to return to the place of capture after release at some distance from it.

The smallest frogs living in Cuba have a body length of 8.5 mm to 12 mm.

The vision of frogs is arranged in such a way that they can look forward, sideways and up at the same time. They never close their eyes for a long time, even during sleep.

Wet skin of frogs has bactericidal properties. Our ancestors, knowing this, threw them into milk so that it would not turn sour.
However, not all types of frogs are harmless. For example, "cocoi" frogs that live in the jungle South America and Colombia, were recognized as the most poisonous land animals on our planet. The poison of this frog is thousands of times stronger than potassium cyanide and 35 times stronger than the poison of the Central Asian cobra.

In Japan, frogs are considered a symbol of good luck.

IN Ancient Egypt, frogs were a symbol of resurrection and were even mummified along with the dead. This is probably due to the fact that many species of frogs living in temperate and cold latitudes annually hibernate, freezing, and resurrect again in the spring. The fact is that frogs produce an unfreezing molecule - glucose. The liquid in the tissues becomes syrupy from frost, without forming ice crystals, which allows amphibians to survive.

The first to come down to us piece of art, in the title of which the tailless appear - this is Aristophanes' comedy "The Frogs", first staged in 405 BC. e.

Amphibians are the first who mastered the land, but did not lose touch with the water element. These animals are the result of the evolution of freshwater lobe-finned fish, who lived on the planet about 300 million years ago, mainly in wetlands.

The main characteristics of amphibians

There are a number of basic characteristics that are inherent in almost all representatives of this genus:

  • the body has a slightly flattened shape;
  • paws have five fingers;
  • the skin is moist, thin, with huge amount sebaceous glands;
  • all animals of this class are predators;
  • the heart has three chambers;
  • adults have two respiratory organs - lungs and skin, larvae breathe through gills.

Species diversity

An interesting fact about amphibians is that they are of minimal practical importance, while there is still a certain benefit to humans - they destroy harmful arthropods, slugs and mollusks.

On the territory of our country there are two detachments:

In some regions, eating frogs and salamanders is acceptable. Newts feed on mosquito larvae, including malaria. Most often, experiments are performed on frogs, on the other hand, they are also harmful, as they are "lovers" of fish fry.

frogs

This is a commonly used concept of a whole detachment of anurans. In a narrow sense, this term is applicable to the family of true frogs. The minimum size of the animal is 9 mm, and the largest individuals can reach 90 cm, and they include the goliath frog. And the smallest lives in Cuba, its size is only 9 mm. All types of frogs have bulging eyes and a stocky body.

But few people know an interesting fact about amphibians - frogs have teeth, but they are designed solely for grabbing and holding, but not for chewing. Toads don't have teeth at all.

All frogs have unique vision, being able to simultaneously look in different directions with both eyes. These amphibians do not close their eyes for a long time, even when they sleep.

An interesting fact about amphibians is that their skin has antibacterial and disinfecting properties, so in Rus' it was customary to throw frogs into milk so that it does not turn sour.

There is such a thing as "functional necrophilia", this phenomenon occurs in the Amazonian necrophilic frogs. There are 10 times more males of this species than females, so they fertilize not only the eggs of living individuals, but also dead ones. And a caring frog carries its babies in its own stomach until they are fully mature. In practice, it looks like this - the female swallows the fertilized eggs, and as soon as they are ready to live on their own, the frog spits them out.

Interesting facts about amphibians and amphibians:

  • There is such a species as a glass frog, the skin on the belly resembles a glass surface through which all organs can be viewed.
  • The most poisonous are leaf climbers and dart frogs. The poison of these amphibians is able to "fall down" large predator off your feet.
  • Some types of frogs are able to remove foreign objects from their bodies. This foreign object is practically overgrown with "meat", enters bladder and out from there.

Mankind also treats these animals differently, for example, in Japan and France they were immortalized in monuments. And in the restaurants of Peru they serve a cocktail in which one of the ingredients is a still live frog. According to the assurances of the local population, this drink can improve potency and get rid of asthma.

Tritons

This common name families from the order caudate. This term does not have any systemic binding, water "newts" are called those individuals that live mainly in water, and land ones are called salamanders. Interesting facts - the class of amphibians is often confused with lizards, which inherently belong to the order of reptiles.

Only three species live in our country:

  • comb;
  • ordinary;
  • Asia Minor.

These amphibians have a beautiful dorsal crest, and the abdomen is yellow or orange. The female has to carefully hide her offspring. If there is no secluded place in the pond nearby, then she wraps the caviar in leaves and only then lowers them into the water. An interesting fact about amphibians is that newts are able to grow a lost limb. If severe cold sets in, then some individuals can practically grow into the ice, and live in the spring, as before, without any damage to health. In severely dry periods, the newt practically dries up, but after the first rain it instantly recovers.

salamanders

In our country, the most common species is the fire salamander. They have bright spots on their body, and a poisonous liquid is secreted from the glands around the eyes. If it gets on the mucous membrane of a person, it will inevitably cause a burning sensation.

An interesting fact is that tailed amphibians do not like cold, so for the winter they stray into large groups, near the roots under a huge layer of fallen leaves. In the cold, amphibians practically do not move.

The largest individuals are found in the reservoirs of Eastern China, this species is called the giant salamander. It can weigh about 70 kg, and reach a length of 2 meters.

Previously, it was believed that salamanders are poisonous, in fact, the poison that is secreted from the glands around the eyes can only paralyze the victim for a while or cause her cardiac arrhythmia. But even in the presence of poison, some fish, birds and even wild boars. Salamanders themselves eat insects, but do not disdain small newts and frogs.

An interesting fact is that this class of amphibians swims very poorly, and in deep water it can even drown. Therefore, they need water only for laying eggs.

Worms

This is the least studied amphibian, but there are about 100 species of worms. This animal lives underground, although it can exist on land and in water. Interesting facts about amphibians - the worm has no eyes, very poor hearing, but a great sense of smell. Mostly all species have a dark color, but there are blue and yellow. Amphibians feed on mollusks and earthworms, and live mainly in tropical forests.

Today, amphibians or amphibians are on the verge of extinction. They are too dependent on water, have a small size and permeable skin. Most of them are under the direct anthropogenic influence of man. Another danger for amphibians is chytridiomycete fungi, the abundant growth of which is associated with an increase in atmospheric temperature on the planet.

The word "amphibians" speaks for itself. These creatures cannot live without water, they are the inhabitants of swamps and rivers, lakes and wet forest floor in the tropics. Frogs, salamanders, newts - everyone knows them, and they are all included in the class Amphibians. Interesting facts about them are collected from all over the world, more amazing creatures hard to find.

Who are amphibians?

Their second name is amphibians. This group of vertebrates should be attributed to the most primitive among terrestrial species. characteristic feature is that reproduction most often occurs in aquatic environment, and already matured individuals live on land. All of them have skin rich in endocrine glands, it is smooth and always moist due to mucus secretion. Interesting facts about amphibians begin with their structure. They breathe through their gills, lungs, and skin at the same time. Some are able to regenerate body parts they have lost. There are species that live in salt water, but mostly amphibians are inhabitants of fresh water.

Frogs are interesting!

There are so many creatures on the planet, but everyone knows frogs. The attitude, frankly, to them is twofold. Meanwhile, in Japan, they are considered a symbol of luck. Not always presentable appearance and not very melodic sounds did not provide them with special love. But among them there are such specimens that, to put it mildly, surprise. In general, all frogs have an amazing structure of the visual apparatus, which allows you to simultaneously look up, forward and sideways. We will name only the most interesting facts about the amphibians of this order. The smallest representative of the frog lives in Cuba and has a size of only 8.5 mm. While the largest - the African Goliath (pictured above) - reaches a length (excluding paws) of 30 cm and a weight of three kilograms. Such impressive dimensions do not prevent her from jumping a distance of three meters, but at the same time, thanks to them, she became an object of fishing. local residents and therefore endangered.

The most dangerous frog lives in South America. Its poison, secreted outward by the secretion glands, is much more dangerous than that of a cobra. An amazing toad lives there, it itself is small, only 4-5 cm, but its offspring (tadpoles) outgrow the mother by 3-4 times. But as they grow older, they return to standard sizes. This type for this feature was called "paradoxical frog".

Interesting facts about amphibians (order Tailed)

The eggs laid by the salamander are infested with green algae. This is a mutually beneficial symbiosis. The embryo receives oxygen from the plant. The algae feeds on nitrogen, which contains the waste of the embryo. About fire salamander everyone knows that it has a characteristic color (black with bright yellow spots). It is characterized by live birth, and the amazing ability not to burn in the fire, which has long been the subject of legends. Everything is explained simply: the body of the salamander is covered with a special mucus and this allows it to gain time and retreat. The largest representative of this order lives in Japan (pictured). It is called the giant salamander, the average length is one meter. This is a predator resembling some kind of prehistoric creature. Possessing poor eyesight, he navigates in space with the help of smell and touch.

Legless amphibians: interesting facts

To put it mildly, this strange creatures resembling snakes and earthworms at the same time. This is the smallest detachment of amphibians known since the time jurassic. They have no limbs, and the tail is greatly reduced. Their skin is completely bare, although some have reduced scales, the color is usually dark, matte. These are inhabitants of the forest floor near water bodies, some are characterized by live birth.

Interesting facts about amphibians are very numerous, every year scientists make amazing discoveries about the features of their life, reproduction, structure, adaptation to the environment, and even find new species in places where no human has yet set foot. The world is full of amazing creatures - that's a fact.