Amphibians

What is an amphibian?

Amphibians, such as frogs, are vertebrates. The picture below shows the skeleton of a frog. Can you see its backbone?

Amphibians have the following things in common:

• They live part of their lives in water and part on land: Most amphibians start their lives as tadpoles or larvae that live in water and breathe with gills. Then they develop into adults that can live on land and breathe air.

_{Most amphibians start their life as tadpoles or larvae that live in water}

• They have moist smooth skin: Almost all amphibians have skin which is moist and smooth.
• They breathe with their lungs and through their skin.
• They are cold blooded: This means that their body temperature depends on the temperature of their environment. 

Examples of amphibians

Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders are all amphibians. Look at the pictures below.

_{All frogs and toads are amphibians.}

_{Although they look like lizards, salamanders are amphibians. They do not have scales.They have smooth, moist skin and start their life in water as larvae.}

_{Newts are amphibians as well.}