The caudate squad is interesting facts. Class amphibians: the rarest and strangest representatives. Reproduction and nutritional habits

• Latin name comes from the Greek amphibios - living a double life.

• The class Amphibians totals more than 6,700 (according to other sources - about 5,000 modern species, which makes this class relatively small.

• In Russia there are 28 species, and in the relatively small Madagascar - 247 species.

• The class Amphibians includes, among others, .

• Amphibians are the first vertebrates to transition from an aquatic to an aquatic-terrestrial lifestyle.

• Refers to the most primitive terrestrial vertebrates. Amphibians occupy an intermediate position between terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates.

• Reproduction in most species occurs in water.

• Amphibians, like , lay eggs, because their eggs (spawn) and embryos lack adaptations for terrestrial development. Development ends with Metamorphosis, during which the larvae lose their resemblance to fish and turn into adult animals.

• Adults live on land.

• The organization of Amphibians as terrestrial vertebrates is imperfect in many ways: the metabolic rate is very low, the body temperature is not constant and corresponds to the temperature of the external environment.

• All amphibians have thin smooth skin, relatively easily permeable to gases and liquids. Moist and soft skin plays in Amphibians important role in the breath. Skin moisture, necessary for gas exchange, is maintained by secretions of the mucous glands. In some species, mucus can be poisonous.

• The skin is an additional organ of gas exchange and is equipped with a dense network of capillaries.

• All amphibians feed only on mobile prey. At the bottom of the oropharyngeal cavity is the tongue. When caught, the tongue is thrown out of the mouth and the prey sticks to it. The jaws have teeth that serve only to hold prey. In frogs they are located only on the upper jaw.

• All modern amphibians are predators.

• The teeth serve only to grasp and hold prey. U toads teeth are completely missing.

• There are no herbivores among amphibians due to their extremely sluggish metabolism.

• Amphibians feed on small animals (mainly insects and invertebrates) and are prone to cannibalism. In aquatic species, the diet may include juvenile fish, and the largest ones prey on waterfowl chicks and small ones that fall into the water.

• IN life cycle In amphibians, four stages of development are clearly distinguished: egg, larva (tadpole), period of metamorphosis, and adult.

• For the development of the egg (spawn), it needs constant moisture. The vast majority of amphibians lay their eggs in fresh water bodies, but there are exceptions: giant salamanders, the amphium frog and some other amphibians lay eggs on land. Even in these cases, eggs need high humidity environment, the provision of which falls on the parent.

• Species are known that carry eggs on their bodies: male midwife toads wrap a cord-like clutch around their hind legs, and a female reticulated copepod attaches the eggs to her stomach.

• The fertilized eggs of the Suriname pipa are pressed by the male into the back of the female and the latter carries it on herself until young pipas hatch from the eggs.

• Larvae hatched from eggs lead an aquatic lifestyle. They resemble fish in their structure: they lack paired limbs and breathe with gills (external, then internal). Only some species are born as small tailless frogs.

• The larvae undergo metamorphosis and turn into adults leading a terrestrial lifestyle.

• Amphibians of some species take care of their offspring (toads, tree frogs).

• Fossil amphibians are much more numerous and diverse than modern ones.

Extinct amphibians: 1 – Eogyrinus; 2 – Eryops; 3 – Gerrothorax; 4 – Seymouria; 5 – Metoposaurus; 6 – Ophiderpeton; 7 – Diplocaulus; 8 – Cardiocephalus.

• But modern amphibians are also quite diverse and interesting:

Amphibians. 1 – ringed caecilian (Siphonops annulatus); 2 – proteus (Proteus anguinus); 3 – red false newt (Pseudotriton ruber): 4 – fire salamander(Salamandra salamandra); 5 – common newt (Triturus vulgaris), female, 6 – male; 7 – Asia Minor newt (Triturus vittatus), female, 8 – male; 9 – axolotl - larva of Ambistoma tigrinum; 10 – Far Eastern toad (Bombina orientalis); 11 – tree frog (Hyla arborea).

Amphibians. 1 – spadefoot spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus); 2 – slingshot (Ceratophrys cornuta); 3 – variable atelop (Atelopus varius); 4 – Venezuelan shorthead (Atelopus cruciger); 5 – South African narrowmouth (Breviceps adspersus); 6 – American frog (Rana pipiens); 7 – sharp-faced frog (Rana terrestris), male in breeding plumage, 8 – male in normal plumage; 9 - green frog(Rana esculenta).

Amphibians or amphibians are animals that live both in water and on land; about five thousand species of them are known. These include frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, and there is also a little-known species of 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 found 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

Caecilians 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 the sense of smell is very good.

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

They live in the tropics in humid environments. They eat earthworms and shellfish.

The baby caecilians will be born alive or hatch from eggs.

Newts are often confused with lizards. But lizards are reptiles, newts are amphibians. Newts 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 common. The crested newt is considered the most beautiful - it has a large dorsal crest and a yellow or orange belly.

Newts are fairly defenseless animals, so they need to be resourceful to protect their young. 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.

Newts 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 may freeze into ice in the winter, but in the spring they thaw and continue their normal existence. In the heat without water, newts can dry out almost completely, but after rain they quickly renew themselves.

Salamanders

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

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

The largest amphibian animal is giant salamander, it reaches a length of almost two meters, with a weight of up to seventy kilograms. She lives in the reservoirs of Eastern China.

Salamanders were considered highly poisonous in the past. They actually have venom glands behind their eyes that secrete small amounts of a scalding liquid. This poison is a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis, arrhythmia and convulsions in animals that try to eat it. Despite this, she is already being hunted, predatory fish, wild boars, birds. Salamanders do not pose a serious danger to humans, but if they come into contact with the mucous membrane, the poison can cause a burning sensation, and allergic reactions are also possible. So it’s better not to take risks and not pick it up.

Salamanders typically feed on insects, but can also eat small frogs and newts.

Despite the fact that the salamander is an amphibian, it swims poorly and can even drown in deep water. Reservoirs are used only for laying eggs.

Frogs and toads

Interesting facts about amphibians - frogs and toads.

Frogs and toads are very similar, but there are still some differences between them. Toads have drier skin and small growths that people mistakenly call warts, but the misnomer has stuck. 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 rather than move by jumping, due to this their mobility is less. The body is shorter and closer to the ground. These two species also differ in the laying of eggs - toads lay eggs in the form of a cord on which the eggs are attached in pairs, while frogs lay eggs in the form of a cloud in a pond.

IN Amazonian forests they live very poison dart frogs. Their coloring is bright, which is a warning to predators that they are not food, but a dangerous poison. The Indians lubricated 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 ucoqui is enough to process 50 arrows.

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

With the help of their hind legs, frogs can jump well, this helps them move and also run away from predators - in an instant this animal can jump from a high bank into a pond and find itself out of reach.

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

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

Tree frogs cannot hide in the water in case of danger, so they camouflage themselves - their skin color often matches the color of the surrounding foliage. In South America there lives a cocked-crowned tree frog, whose skin color 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 membranes on the paws that have sufficient area when the paws are open for successful gliding from the tree.

In Chile, there lives a Darwinian frog, the male of which carries eggs in his mouth until small tadpoles are born.

There is a barking tree frog that makes sounds similar to barking. Similar sound effects are created by bags on the head, which inflate so much that the dimensions of the animal double.

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

The noisy 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 to a completely unfamiliar area).

In southern Suriname lives the blue dart frog, which glows in bright light as if made of phosphorus. The skin is a beautiful dark sapphire color and secretes a poison that poses a danger to natural predators and humans.

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

What are amphibians?

Their second name is amphibians. This group of vertebrates should be considered 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, it is rich, smooth and always moist due to the secreted mucus. Interesting facts about amphibians begin with their structure. They breathe through gills, lungs and skin at the same time. Some are able to regenerate those they have lost. There are species that live in salt water, but mostly amphibians are inhabitants of fresh water bodies.

Frogs are interesting!

There are so many creatures on the planet, but everyone knows frogs. The attitude towards them, frankly speaking, is twofold. Meanwhile, in Japan they are considered a symbol of luck. Their not always presentable appearance and not very melodious sounds did not provide them with much love. But among them there are some specimens that are, to put it mildly, surprising. In general, all frogs amazing structure visual apparatus, which allows you to simultaneously look up, forward and sideways. Let's name only the most Interesting Facts about amphibians of this order. The smallest representative of frogs lives in Cuba and measures 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 it from jumping at a distance of three meters, but at the same time, thanks to them, it has become an object of fishing local residents and is therefore endangered.

The most dangerous frog lives in South America. Its venom, secreted outward by the secretion glands, is much more dangerous than that of the cobra. Lives there too amazing toad, she herself is small, only 4-5 cm, but her offspring (tadpoles) outgrow their mother by 3-4 times. But as they grow older they return to standard sizes. This type For this feature it was called the “paradoxical frog”.

Interesting facts about amphibians (order Caudates)

The eggs that the salamander lays are inhabited. This is a mutually beneficial symbiosis. The embryo receives oxygen from the plant. The algae feeds on nitrogen, which contains waste from the embryo. Everyone knows about the fire salamander; it has a characteristic color (black with bright yellow spots). She is characterized by viviparity, and amazing ability not to burn in fire, which has long become the subject of legends. The explanation is simple: the salamander’s body is covered with 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 length on average is one meter. This is a predator that resembles some kind of prehistoric creature. Possessing it, he orients himself in space using the sense of smell and touch.

To put it mildly, this strange creatures, reminiscent of snakes and at the same time. This is the smallest order of amphibians known since Jurassic period. They have no limbs, and the tail is greatly reduced. Their skin is completely bare, although some have noticeable reduced scales; the color is usually dark and matte. These are inhabitants of the forest floor near water bodies; some are characterized by viviparity.

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

Despite the fact that amphibians are distributed throughout the Earth, they are one of the few classes of animals that are practically not used by humans. Unless in the tropics (and in one of European countries, whose inhabitants are called “frogmen” for their passion for frog legs), some species of amphibians are eaten, and biologists also like to conduct experiments on amphibians. Basically, amphibians and humans live on their own and rarely intersect.

Humans' lack of mercantile interest in them does not make amphibians boring. Amphibians have their own characteristics, some of them are very interesting. The selection below includes teeth that do not chew, a frog like a refrigerator, freezing newts, fireproof salamanders and other interesting facts.

1. All amphibians are predators. Even their larvae eat them plant foods only at a young age, and then switch to live food. Of course, this is not due to some innate bloodthirstiness; it does not exist in nature. Metabolism in the body of amphibians is very sluggish, so they can only survive on high-calorie animal food. Amphibians and cannibalism do not shun.

2. The teeth that some amphibians have are not designed for chewing prey. This is a tool for catching and capturing it. Amphibians swallow their food whole.

3. Absolutely all amphibians are cold-blooded. Therefore, environmental temperature plays a crucial role for their survival.

4. The life of amphibians begins in water, but most of it passes on land. There are amphibians that live exclusively in the aquatic environment, but there are no reverse exceptions, there are only species that live only on trees in the humid jungle. So “amphibians” is a surprisingly accurate name.

5. However, even after conducting most time on land, amphibians are forced to constantly return to water. Their skin is permeable to water, and if it is not moistened, the animal will die from dehydration. Amphibians can independently secrete mucus to wet their skin, but the resources of their organisms, of course, are not unlimited.

6. The permeability of the skin, which makes amphibians so vulnerable, helps them breathe normally. They have very weak lungs, so some required air absorbed into the body through the skin.

7. The number of amphibian species does not even reach 8 thousand (more precisely, there are about 7,700), which is quite a bit for a whole class of living beings. At the same time, amphibians are very sensitive to the environment and do not adapt well to its changes. Therefore, ecologists believe that up to a third of amphibian species are at risk of extinction.

8. Amphibians are the only class of creatures living on land whose offspring in their development go through a special stage - metamorphosis. That is, what emerges from the larva is not a smaller copy of an adult creature, but another organism, which subsequently turns into an adult. For example, tadpoles are frogs in the metamorphosis stage. In the development of more complex organisms there is no stage of metamorphosis.

9. Amphibians come from lobe-finned fish. They reached land approximately 400 million years ago, and 80 million years ago they dominated the entire animal world. Until dinosaurs appeared...

10. The reasons for the appearance of amphibians are still explained purely hypothetically. It is believed that as a result volcanic activity On Earth, the air temperature increased, which led to intensive grinding of water bodies. Reductions in the food supply for water inhabitants and a drop in oxygen concentrations led to the fact that some aquatic species became extinct, while others managed to escape to land.

11. Amphibians also include caecilians - strange creatures that look like a cross between a worm and a snake. Caecilians live only in the tropics.

12. Dart frogs and leaf frogs are extremely poisonous. Or rather, the mucus that they secrete to wet the skin is poisonous. For South American Indians, one frog is enough to make dozens of arrows poisonous. Lethal dose poison for an adult - 2 milligrams.

13. Common frogs that are found in ponds middle zone Russia, secrete mucus that has a bactericidal effect. A frog in a jar of milk is not an old wives' tale or a way to protect milk from theft. This is an ancient analogue of a refrigerator - frog mucus kills lactic acid bacteria and the milk does not sour longer.

14. Newts, belonging to amphibians, are surprisingly resilient. They regenerate every part of their body, even their eyes. Triton can dry out to the point of a mummy, but if water gets on it, it comes back to life very quickly. In winter, newts easily freeze into ice and then thaw.

15. Salamanders are also amphibians. They prefer warmer ones weather, and at the slightest cold snap they hide under branches, leaves, etc. and wait out the bad weather. Salamanders are poisonous, but their poison is not dangerous to humans - at most it can cause a burning sensation on the skin. However, it is still not worth testing your own susceptibility to salamander venom experimentally.

16. Contrary to popular belief, the fire salamander actually burns in fire. It's just that the layer of mucus on her skin is quite thick. It allows the amphibian to get a few precious seconds to escape from the flames. The appearance of the name was facilitated not only by this fact, but also by the characteristic fiery color of the back of the fire salamander.

17. Most amphibians are very good at navigating familiar terrain. And frogs are even able to return to their native places even from afar.

18. Despite their low place in the hierarchy of animal classes, many amphibians see well, and some even distinguish colors. But such developed animals as dogs see the world in black and white.

19. Amphibians lay their eggs mainly in water, but there are species that hatch eggs on their backs, in their mouths, and even in their stomachs.

20. Individuals of one of the salamander species grow up to 180 cm in length, which makes them the largest amphibians. And the tender meat makes giant salamanders an endangered species, so highly valued is salamander meat in China. Frogs of the Paedophryne species have the smallest size among amphibians. average length which is about 7.5 mm.

The frog is rightfully considered one of the most amazing amphibians living on earth. These representatives of the fauna do not have any special features - they are wet, slippery and cold; they repel rather than attract our attention. However, if you take a closer look at these amphibians, you can learn a lot of interesting things about them.

So, the most interesting facts about frogs:

• In total, of the more than 5,000 species of amphibians described, almost 88% are frogs.

• Tree frogs, toads and frogs are representatives of three various types amphibian class.

• Most large frog on earth is considered a goliath frog, the weight of some individuals of this species reaches more than three kilograms, and the length is more than 90 centimeters. These frogs are capable of covering three meters in one jump.

• The smallest frog living on our planet lives on a cube, its “height” is only nine millimeters.

• An equally interesting fact is that frogs have truly unique vision; thanks to the special structure of their eyes, they can simultaneously look in different directions - up, sideways and forward.

• Another interesting thing about the life of frogs is that they do not close their eyes for long, even during sleep.

• It is also surprising that the wet and slippery skin of amphibians has high disinfecting and antibactericidal properties. Our ancestors quite often used this feature and threw them into milk so that it would not turn sour.

• Among the frogs there are real dangerous species, for example, cocoi frogs are rightfully considered one of the most poisonous creatures on our planet.

• In nature, there is a species of frogs whose young are larger than their parents. The size of an adult individual of this species does not exceed six centimeters, but their tadpoles can safely be called real giants, since their “height” reaches as much as twenty-five centimeters, and with age they simply decrease.

• Few people know, but the number of male Amazonian necrophilic frogs is 10 times greater than the number of female representatives of this species. During the mating season, the males of these frogs fertilize not only the eggs of living females, but also dead ones. Scientists called this phenomenon “functional necrophilia.”