Amphibians Facts
- Amphibian means two-lives. They spend their lives in water and on land.
- Amphibians are cold-blooded, ectothermic animals. They also come under the class vertebrates (meaning they have backbone or spine).
- Amphibians breathe through skin and they go through metamorphosis.
- Amphibians begin their life in water with gills and tails. They develop lungs and legs as they grow for their land life.
- 60 million years ago amphibians were the dominant terrestrial animals on earth.
Newt
A newt is an amphibian of the Salamandridae family, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (called an eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and may be either fully aquatic, living permanently in the water, or semi-aquatic, living terrestrially but returning to the water each year to breed.
