Amphibians, amphibians interesting facts. Amazing Amphibians Interesting Species of Amphibians

Kvitko Evgeny

The presentation contains interesting facts from the life of amphibians. Creative independent work was done to report on the generalization and repetition of the studied material. The work used illustrations and photos from the pages of Yandex.Photo, information material from Internet sites.

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Interesting facts about amphibians.

The smallest amphibians The smallest frog in the Southern Hemisphere is the golden frog or Brazilian. Adult Golden Frogs measure to grow only 9.8 millimeters in body length including legs. That's about one centimeter or about 3/8 of an inch!

The largest amphibians The largest amphibian is the giant salamander. This rare animal lives in the mountain rivers and streams of South China. It reaches a length of 1.6m and can weigh over 30kg. The giant salamander rarely goes to land, is nocturnal. For example, a salamander caught in Huan province was 1.8m long and weighed 65kg.

The largest toad - yeah, lives in Central and South America. It reaches a length of 25 cm and a width of 12 cm and can weigh more than 1 kg. A copy of this species from the Blank Park Zoo (USA, Iowa) named Totally Osam was 24.13 cm long and weighed 2.31 kg.

The largest of all frog species is the African goliath. The length of the frog is from 25 to 40 cm, and can weigh up to 3 kg. She has good hearing, is cautious, leads a diurnal lifestyle, hunts newts, tadpoles, small fish. In 1989 in Cameroon, a specimen of this frog was caught, which had a length of 36.83 cm, and together with straightened legs, 87.63 cm. The weight of this frog was 3.65 kg.

They were popular as food. In addition, these frogs were kept as pets. The number of goliaths has been reduced to half of what it was before. The Goliath frog is the largest frog in the world.

The largest frog in our country is the lake frog. The largest species among the amphibians of our fauna, it reaches a length of 17cm. Females are always larger than males. However, in different habitats, the size of animals varies markedly.

The world's rarest species of amphibians The world's rarest species is the black-bellied disk-tongued frog (round-tongued) that lives in Lake Hule (USA). Since 1940 so far, only 5 specimens of this frog have been found. It is assumed that this was one of the first groups of anurans.

The most powerful poison The strongest poison secreted by the skin glands - batrachotoxin - has a terrible leaf climber frog (cocoi), its length is only 2-3 cm, and it weighs no more than 1 g.

The secretions of the skin glands of the cocoi frog are 20 times more toxic than the poison of other poisonous frogs. One frog contains enough venom to kill almost 1500 people, and 30 mg of this frog's venom is enough to kill 300,000 mice. Dried poison remains deadly for 15 years. Surprisingly, it is a fact: the Costa Rican Peimadophis snake eats these frogs without harm to itself, apparently possessing immunity against cocoa venom.

Frogs - Athletes The longest jump was demonstrated by a South African sharp-nosed frog named Santier. In 1977 at the frog jumping competition, she managed to overcome a distance of 10.3 m in a triple jump.

Common, or gray, toad hunts with the help of the tongue. Seeing a beetle or slug, she throws out her sticky tongue with lightning speed, and the prey sticks to it. The movements of the toad's tongue are very fast, in a second it can throw it out and stretch it out more than 10 times. The "range" of the toad tongue, however, is small - only 8-10 cm.

Despite the fact that amphibians are distributed throughout the Earth, this is one of the few classes of animals that is practically not used by humans. Unless in the tropics (and in one of the European countries, whose inhabitants are called "frogs" for their addiction to frog legs), some types of amphibians are eaten, and biologists like to experiment on amphibians. Basically, amphibians and humans live on their own and rarely intersect.

A person's lack of mercantile interest in them does not make amphibians boring. Amphibians have their own characteristics, some of them are very interesting. In the selection below - teeth that are not chewed, a frog like a refrigerator, freezing newts, fireproof salamanders and other interesting facts.

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

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, the ambient temperature plays a crucial role for their survival.

4. The life of amphibians begins in the water, but most of it takes place 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 spending most of the time on land, amphibians are forced to constantly return to the water. Their skin is permeable to water, and if it is not moistened, the animal will die of dehydration. On their own, amphibians can secrete mucus to moisten 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 of the necessary air is drawn 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 of them), 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, environmentalists believe that up to a third of amphibian species are under threat of extinction.

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

9. Amphibians come from lobe-finned fish. They got out on land about 400 million years ago, and 80 million years ago they dominated the entire animal world. Before the dinosaurs came...

10. The reasons for the appearance of amphibians are still being explained purely hypothetically. It is believed that as a result of volcanic activity on Earth, the air temperature has risen, which has led to intensive grinding of water bodies. Reductions in the food supply for the inhabitants of the water and a drop in oxygen concentration led to the fact that some aquatic species died out, and some managed to get out onto land.

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

12. Dart frogs and leaf climbers are extremely poisonous. Rather, the mucus that they secrete to wet the skin is poisonous. One frog is enough for the South American Indians to make dozens of arrows poisonous. The lethal dose of poison for an adult is 2 milligrams.

13. Ordinary frogs, which are found in the reservoirs of central Russia, secrete mucus that has a bactericidal effect. A frog in a glass of milk is not a grandmother's fairy tale or a way to keep milk from being stolen. This is an ancient analogue of the refrigerator - frog mucus kills lactic acid bacteria and milk does not sour longer.

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

15. Salamanders are also amphibians. They prefer warmer weather conditions, 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 for humans - at most it can cause burning of the skin. However, it is still not worth testing your own susceptibility to salamander venom empirically.

16. Contrary to popular belief, the fire salamander is very much on fire. It's just that the layer of mucus on her skin is quite thick. It allows the amphibian to gain 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 coloring of the back of the fiery salamander.

17. Most amphibians are very good at navigating familiar terrain. And frogs are completely capable of returning 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 bear 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, salamander meat is so highly valued in China. The frogs of the Paedophryne species have the smallest size among amphibians, the average length of which is about 7.5 mm.

Amphibians or amphibians (Amphibia)- class of vertebrates. íbios - live two lives. The Latin name comes from the Greek amph íbios - living with twofold life. Class Amphibians totals more than 6700 species.

Amphibians (amphibians) interesting facts

When witches brewed their potion hundreds of years ago, traditionally frogs have always been a key ingredient in any witchcraft potion. The strong poison of some amphibians, such as the golden frog, has long been used as a weapon; the Choco Indians lubricated the tips of their arrows with them. Frogs are a traditional symbol of mutilation, rejection and rejection. In 16th century England, a woman in whose house a frog was found was tried for witchcraft. But why a frog? Because of their skin, the shape of their body, or does it still contain dark forces? Since ancient times, there have been many stories about stones that suddenly split open, releasing the frog that lived inside. Witchcraft, magic? No. This is winter sleep. In order not to freeze in winter, frogs fall asleep in dark and warm places. Amphibian skin can also serve as a medicine. In 1986, a new class of antibiotics was discovered in the secretion of the African clawed frog. More recently, scientists have found that frog skin contains an anesthetic that is 200 times stronger than morphine. Holes in the ozone layer have made amphibians unwitting sensors of the planet's health. Ultraviolet rays, which cause cancer in humans, are detrimental to them. Scientists believe that amphibians at an accelerated pace reflect the course of evolution, during which Homo sapiens appeared. The tadpole loses its gills immediately after birth and begins to breathe with lungs. At the sixth week of life, his hind limbs grow back. Nine weeks later, the tadpole looks like a frog. There are lungs that swallow air from the surface of the water, and forelimbs. Each hour of his life corresponds to a million years of evolution. Over time, the tadpole develops vision and hearing. Tailless amphibians hear perfectly is a proven fact. Males attract females by singing. The call of the coca frog consists of two tones. But females hear only a high sound - inviting, and other males, only a low one - threatening. For male American bullfrogs, good hearing is very important. They are aggressive and constantly listen for nearby rivals. Their ears are almost twice the size of their eyes. The vision of amphibians depends on the habitat. Eyes are also of different types, differ in shape and size. Narrow, cat-like pupils, either horizontal or vertical, make it possible to see in the dark. The pupils of amphibians are square, even heart-shaped. The colors of their eyes are also striking in their diversity, they are even red, for example, in tree frogs. This is a strange feature, given that amphibians see the world in black and white. Predatory snakes also have sharp eyesight, but they see the world in ultraviolet light. Their potential victims - amphibians, will not interfere with an extra ace up their sleeve. And in them he is mimicry. The skin of frogs reflects as much ultraviolet light as the letter on which it sits, it cannot be seen, and the snake sees an empty sheet. Amphibians are the first vertebrates, such that have switched from aquatic to aquatic-terrestrial way of life. Reproduction in most species occurs in water. Amphibians, like fish, lay eggs, since their eggs (roe) and embryos are devoid of 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 respects: very low metabolic rate, body temperature is unstable and corresponds to the temperature of the external environment.

All amphibians have thin, smooth skin that is relatively easy to pass through for gases and liquids. Moisture and soft skin in amphibians play an important role in respiration. The moisture of the skin, necessary for gas exchange, is maintained by the secretions of the mucous glands. In some species, the mucus can be poisonous.

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

All amphibians feed only on moving prey. At the bottom of the oropharyngeal cavity is the tongue. When catching insects, the tongue is thrown out of the mouth, 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 predators. The teeth serve only to grasp and hold the prey. Frogs have no teeth at all. Herbivorous animals among amphibians has because of the extremely sluggish metabolism. Amphibians feed on small animals (mainly insects and invertebrates), and are prone to cannibalism. In aquatic species, juvenile fish may be included in the diet, and the largest prey on chicks of waterfowl and small rodents that have fallen into the water. In the life cycle of amphibians, there are clearly distinguished four stages of development: egg, larva (tadpole), metamorphosis period, adult.

For the development of an egg (caviar), its constant moisture is necessary. The vast majority of amphibians lay their eggs in fresh water, but there are known exceptions: giant salamanders, amphibian frogs and some other amphibians lay eggs on land. Eggs need even in these cases a high humidity of the environment, the provision of which falls on the parents.

Species are known that carry eggs on their bodies: male midwife frogs wrap a cord-like masonry around their hind legs, a female netted copepod frog attaches eggs to their stomach.

The fertilized eggs in the Surinamese pips are pressed by the male into the back of the female and the latter wears it on herself until the young pips hatch from the eggs. The larvae that hatch from the eggs lead an aquatic lifestyle. They resemble fish in their structure: they lack paired limbs, they breathe with gills (external, then internal). Only some species are already born in the form of small tailless frogs. The larvae undergo metamorphosis and turn into adults leading a terrestrial lifestyle. Amphibians of some species take care of their offspring (toad, tree frog). Fossil amphibians are much more numerous and diverse than modern ones.

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 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 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 are mostly dark in color, 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. Newts live in temperate climates, in winter they hide under branches and rocks 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 clear 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, it got its name because it hides under logs and, if they are used to make 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 like warmer climates than newts. 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 the waters of Eastern 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, predatory fish, wild boars, birds prey on her. 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.

Very poisonous dart frogs live in the Amazonian forests. 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 poison, scraping it from their 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 their lungs, but also with their skin, which must be moistened for normal respiratory function.

With the help of their hind legs, frogs can jump well, this helps them to move around, and also to 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, whose skin color is similar to tree bark, which makes it invisible on a tree trunk.

In case of danger, one of the frog species can fly a little through the air - there are membranes 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.

The bullfrog lives in North America. 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.

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, it is difficult to find more amazing creatures.

Who are amphibians?

Their second name is amphibians. This group of vertebrates should be attributed to the most primitive among terrestrial species. A characteristic feature is that reproduction most often occurs in the aquatic environment, and already matured individuals live on land. All of them have skin that is rich, smooth and always moist due to the secretion of mucus. 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 what 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 for local residents and therefore is 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 species was called the "paradoxical frog" for this feature.

Interesting facts about amphibians (order Tailed)

The eggs that the salamander lays are populated. 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. Everyone knows about the fire salamander, 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 length on average is one meter. This is a predator resembling some kind of prehistoric creature. Possessing it, it navigates in space with the help of smell and touch.

To put it mildly, these are strange creatures that resemble snakes at the same time. This is the smallest detachment of amphibians known since the Jurassic period. 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.