### animal | vertebrate:

Amphibian
* All amphibians are cold blooded
  - cold-blooded, like fish, snakes, lizards, and turtles
* All amphibians have four legs with the exception of caecilians, which are limbless
  - soft moist skin
  - lay eggs in aquatic system
  - reproduce by laying eggs in the water
* All amphibians start as eggs in the water and go through a metamorphosis, or change, early in life
  - life with gills, living under water, but most eventually develop lungs
* Many amphibians also live in water.
* Many amphibians are a popular exotic pet and are found in pet stores that sell reptiles
  - obligate breeders in standing water
  - remarkable for the ways in which they care for their eggs and young
  - used in scientific experiments
* Many amphibians can absorb oxygen through their skin
  - only survive in fishless ponds
  - display complex and diverse social behavior, especially during the breeding season
* Many amphibians have to lay their eggs in warm places
  - toxic skin
  - live in the streams and ponds and salmon are important consumers
  - produce hundreds or thousands of eggs, but only a few survive until adulthood
* Most amphibians absorb oxygen
  - adapt to life
  - also have four limbs
* Most amphibians are located in streams
  - relatively small animals
  - avoid daytime temperatures and low humidity
* Most amphibians begin life in water and the later change to adapt to life on land
* Most amphibians breathe through moist skin
* Most amphibians breathe with as larvae and with lungs as adults
  - lungs as larvae and with gills as adults
  - can both walk and swim in water
  - capture prey
  - change color
  - contain three eye lids
  - deposit their eggs in water or a moist, protected place
* Most amphibians develop from eggs to free swimming larvae quickly
  - drink water
* Most amphibians eat algae
  - food
  - meat, albeit in different preferences among different species
* Most amphibians emerge from ecosystems
  - excrete waste
  - exist on earth
* Most amphibians feed in water
  - on algas
* Most amphibians feed upon insects
  - small insects
* Most amphibians find in freshwater ponds
  - force air
  - go through stages
* Most amphibians has-part guts
  - hands
  - hearts
  - organs
  - stomachs
  - tails
  - hatch from eggs
* Most amphibians have a glandular portion to their tongue, and musculature
  - good sense of smell
  - ability
  - brains
  - eyes
* Most amphibians have four limbs , except for caecilians
  - glands
  - inner skeletons
  - large, wide mouths to consume large animals
  - legs and can swim, cralw or hop
  - long tongues
  - no scales, allowing their skin to absorb water
  - poison glands
  - slimy and smooth skin except newts have rough skin
  - songs
  - sticky tongues
  - thin skin
  - unique ability
  - very muscular and flexible tongues
  - hibernate during winter
* Most amphibians inhabit areas
  - roadside habitats
  - salt water
  - lack scales
* Most amphibians lay eggs that have a gelatinous coating but no shell
  - soft eggs in water
  - leave their eggs to look after themselves
* Most amphibians live in desert environments
  - dry habitats
  - regions
  - roadside ponds
* Most amphibians live in terrestrial environments
  - near water
  - part of their lives underwater and part on land
  - look like lizards
  - occupy niches
* Most amphibians occur in fresh water
  - only exit the water as adults
* Most amphibians possess cells
  - toxins
  - prefer environments
* Most amphibians reach maturity at three or four years
  - relate to frogs
  - rely heavily on their moist skin to carry out gas exchange with the environment
* Most amphibians reproduce by laying eggs
* Most amphibians require carbohydrates
  - diets
  - moist environments and many spend part of their cycle in the water
* Most amphibians retain close ties with water and are most abundant in damp habitats
* Most amphibians return to ponds
* Most amphibians share characteristics
  - key characteristics
  - several characteristics
* Most amphibians spend a lot of their lives in wet surroundings
  - their early life in water, where eggs are laid and larvae hatch and swim
* Most amphibians survive events
  - in habitats
  - mass extinction events
* Most amphibians thrive in environments
  - wetland
* Most amphibians undergo a unique change from larvae to adults, called metamorphosis
  - larval phases
* Most amphibians use jaws
  - large jaws
* Some amphibians absorb water
  - accumulate urea
* Some amphibians are considered moderately intelligent
  - inside lakes
  - known as salamanders
* Some amphibians are located in marsh
  - woodlands
  - very sensitive to acid inputs, especially during reproductive periods
  - avoid predators
  - become vertebrates
* Some amphibians can also be difficult to handle due to their coating of protective slime
  - detect insects by the sounds they make
  - complete metamorphosis
  - cross streets
  - develop straight into the adult stage from the embryo, skipping the tadpole stage
  - dig deep burrows and stay there for up to nine months at a time
* Some amphibians eat algae and continue to feed and grow until there is no more algae left
* Some amphibians emerge from Africa
  - forests
  - ground
  - exhibit abnormalities
  - feed on vertebrates
  - find in deserts
  - float in ponds
* Some amphibians give birth to frogs
  - offspring
  - has-part glands
* Some amphibians have animals
  - another amazing ability shared by few other animals
  - fingers
  - gills and live underwater during part of their life cycle
  - hemoglobins
  - one sac, like a toad
  - ranges
  - inhabit deserts
  - invade ground
  - lay eggs that are very clear
* Some amphibians live in Alberta
  - Connecticut
  - Illinois
  - coastlines
  - zones
  - move tails
* Some amphibians possess armor
  - structures
  - produce urea
  - protect environments
* Some amphibians resemble salamanders
  - worms
* Some amphibians respond to climate variation
  - retain tails
  - return to lakes
* Some amphibians secrete poison
  - powerful toxins
  - sit on limbs
  - survive for weeks
  - use skin
* absorb and concentrate toxins in their fatty tissues
* also employ various combinations of branchial and pulmonary strategies to breathe
  - experience very high mortality
* also have a special role to play in keeping the environment healthy
  - immune cells arranged into organs
  - possess a cloaca, which common reservoir for digesta and urine
  - use smell and hearing to hunt prey
* are a class of animals like reptiles , mammals , and birds
  - that have skin poison glands and mucous glands
* are a group of animals that spend part of their lives in water and part on land
  - vertebrates that has adapted to live in both water and on land
  - unique kingdom of animal which evolved from fish
  - able top absorb water and oxygen though their porous skin
  - airplanes
* are also an important pharmaceutical resource
  - subject to many diseases
  - very much dependent on water
  - amazing creatures
  - an amazing group of animals do just that
* are an important component of the northwestern fauna
  - part of the ecological balance of many habitats
* are animals that have backbones and that can live in water or on land
  - include salamanders, newts, caecilians, frogs and toads
* are animals that live above water and under water such as frogs and toads
  - both on land and in water
  - on land and return to water to breed each year
  - who adapted to living both on land and in water
  - with moist, hairless skin which water passes through, both in and out
  - born in the water
  - both aquatic and terrestrial
  - carnivores that are major consumers of invertebrates, especially insects
  - cold blooded creatures
  - cold-blooded and live in humid areas to avoid desiccation
* are cold-blooded animals like reptiles
  - that possess backbones
  - vertebrates, which are animals that have backbones
  - completely dependent on an aquatic environment for a. respiration
* are creatures that spend most of their lives in water but can also survive on land
  - which spend part of their life in water and part of their life on dry land
  - crucial both as a source of prey and as predators controlling other small species
  - ectothermic, meaning they can warm their body through metabolic processes
  - especially sensitive to contamination from agrochemicals
  - excellent indicators of water quality and ecosystem health
  - exceptional among tetrapods in having very little keratin and a thin stratum corneum
  - far more sensitive to environmental hazards because of their permeable skin
* are good indicators of environmental health
  - significant environmental changes
  - the quality of a habitat
* are important barometers of the health of the environment
  - environmental indicators
  - in other ways as well
  - members of wildlife communities associated with forest ecosystems
  - predators of insects, other invertebrates and vertebrates
  - in most cases, small, diverse, and sensitive to environmental variability
  - known as indicator species
  - like fish because they have a backbone
  - members of the class Amphibia
  - motor vehicles
  - natural indicators of our planet's well-being
  - naturally sluggish
  - now the object of intensive studies to solve the mystery of their decline
* are often a good indicator of ecosystem health
  - sentinels of environmental conditions causing disease and death
  - osmotically-challenged due to their highly permeable skin and egg membranes
  - predatory animals
  - present too but in relatively low numbers
  - prey for a great variety of predators because they are small and they have soft skin
  - quite important for humans
  - relatively easy prey to hunt
* are sensitive indicators of environmental problems
  - to many environmental factors
  - surprisingly variable
* are the dominant terrestrial vert
  - first animals affected by environmental problems
* are the first true tetrapods, or vertebrates with limbs
  - vertebrates with four limbs
  - vertebrates with well developed zygapophyses
  - least well-represented group in managed areas
  - only group of vertebrates that undergo metamorphosis during their lifetime
* are the only vertebrates that go through any type of metamorphosis after being born
  - to go through metamorphosis
  - to wetlands what canaries are to gold mines
  - typically aquatic as larvae and terrestrial as adults
  - vertebrate tetrapods
  - vertebrates, so they have a bony skeleton
  - vulnerable to any environmental factors that affect the skin
  - without question a vital link in the vertebrate food chain
* become more common.
  - their lives in the water
* biology and husbandry.
* breathe through both their skin and their lungs
* brumate in existing holes created by roots or small mammals.
* can often absorb oxygen through their skin if necessary
  - reduce water loss by reducing the amount of surface area exposed to evaporation
  - use gills, lungs, and skin for gas exchange
* carry no diseases transmissible to humans.
* close jaws.
* continue to decline worldwide.
* develop limbs.
* dintegrate underwater and their remains are unlikely to surface.
* divide their time between freshwater and terrestrial.
* exhibit features.
* first breathe with gills, and then they breathe with lungs.
* go from the egg, to the larva, to the adult.
* go through a two-stage life cycle
* have ability
  - backbones and can breathe through their skin
  - backbones, are cold-blooded, and live on land and in water at different times
  - colour vision and depth of focus for clear sight
  - dual habitats, dividing their time between land and water
  - eyes which are adjusted to seeing both on land and in water
  - four legs, and often look like reptiles
  - kidneys
* have long tails and slender bodies
  - lots of skin glands
  - lungs, but they also breathe through their skin
  - many unique or unusual developmental characteristics
  - moist, permeable skins that readily absorb chemicals from the environment
* have smooth and moist skin and they lay eggs without shells
* have smooth, moist skin without scales
  - soft, generally moist skin without scales
* have thin skin that is permeable to water and much of the grunge that occurs in water
* hunt insects.
* include frogs.
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - heads
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* inhabit a great variety of ecological niches, including such arid regions as deserts
* lay eggs in water
* like to live near freshwater in warm weather.
  - local colonies
  - two different media, air and water
  - wetlands, and in moist humid areas
  - on land and in the water
* make up most of the diet, but fish and invertebrates also eaten.
* mark the transition between the aquatic and terrestrial environment.
* mostly live in the canopy of the tropical rainforest
  - require fresh water to reproduce
* need fresh water
* often forage in upland areas but return to the water to mate and reproduce.
* play a pivotal role in ecosystem as secondary consumers in many food chains.
  - skulls
* predate reptiles in the fossil record.
* prefer cooler, moister areas
* provide many ecosystem services valued by society
  - new insights into taste bud development
  - sustiance for other organisms, as well
* rely on external fertilization in the water
  - to varying degrees on diffusion of gases over their skin
* require water in which to lay their eggs and for the tadpoles to grow to adulthood
  - to keep their skin moist
* respire through their skin.
* respond to danger in several ways.
* rest in the cool, moist micro-habitat that dead trees provide.
* retain gills.
* simply have a brain without a cerebral cortex.
* spend part of their life cycle in water and part on land.
* spend part of their life in water and part of it on land
  - water and part of their life on land
  - lives living in water and the other part living on land
* spend time both in water and on land
  - in water and land environments
  - the same way
* take advatange of the temporary pools in order to breed.
* tend to show similar symptoms for a variety of disease states.
  - freshwater biomes, whether they be running water or stagnant marshland
* undergo larval phases
  - seasonal pools of water within low spots for breeding
  - their skin as a respiratory surface
* usually have to stay near water sources to prevent drying out, and have smooth skin
  - live in or near the water
* vary considerably in their hunting practices.
* walk out of the water.
+ Amphibian, Anatomy, Senses and skeletal system
  * The skeletal system of amphibians are similar to other four-legged animals. They have a spine, rib cage, long bones such as the humerus and femur. They also have short bones such as the phalanges, metacarpals, and metatarsals. Most amphibians have four limbs, except for caecilians. The bones in amphibians are hollow and do not weigh much
  * Most amphibians have a good sense of smell. Their eyes have color and clear vision
  * Amphibians are predatory animals. If there is no food to be found, they will eat each other.
  * Amphibians are predatory animals. They mostly eat live invertebrates and animals that do not move too quickly. These include caterpillars, earthworms, crayfish, water beetles, snails and dragon fly larvae. Wells, Kentwood David 2007. University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226893340p667 Many amphibians use their sticky tongues to catch their prey. They will swallow the animal whole, but may chew it just a bit for it to go down their throats
+ Amphibian, Living amphibia, Adaptations, Respiration
  * Amphibians like to live near freshwater in warm weather. There have also been species which live in forests, deserts and arctic conditions. Adult amphibians use lungs, and they also get oxygen through their skin, so long as it is moist. Biology of amphibians'. Johns Hopkins University Press
  * Amphibians have colour vision and depth of focus for clear sight. They also have eye lids, glands and ducts which keep the eyes moist
  - Reproduction
  * Amphibians are the only vertebrates to go through metamorphosis. This means that their young looks different than adult amphibians. Male frogs and toads will croak to attract a female. When a female frog has chosen a mate, the male frog will hop on top of her. Frogs can lay up to 100 to 60,000 eggs in one clutch
  - Reproduction, Eggs
  * Some amphibians lay eggs that are very clear. This makes it easy to watch a tadpole grow inside its egg.
  * Tree frogs usually lay their eggs on a leaf. Bullfrogs, such as the male American bullfrog and the male African bullfrog, will stay with their tadpoles and protect them from predators. They do this so their tadpoles will not dry up. Most amphibians leave their eggs to  look after themselves. Fish and other animals do eat most of their eggs. Male midwife toads carry their eggs on their backs
+ Frog, Characteristics
  * Frogs have skin with no scales or hair. They can take in oxygen from either water or air. Mucus that helps their skin to stay wet and slippery. Many amphibians have toxic skin. They have secretions which makes their skin poisonous.
+ Frogs as pets: Pets :: Frogs
  * Tree frogs like to climb and can escape if a pet owner does not add a top cover for their tanks. Semi-aquatic amphibians need both land and water divided in the tank. Tropical frogs would need mist and high humidity in their terrariums. All amphibians water must be treated with dechlorination. The chlorine can kill amphibians, and are found in tap water. Many amphibians are a popular exotic pet and are found in pet stores that sell reptiles.