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The smallest amphibian (and vertebrate) in the world is a frog from New Guinea (Paedophryne amauensis) with a length of just 7.7 mm (0.30 in). The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) South China giant salamander ( Andrias sligoi ), but this is dwarfed by prehistoric temnospondyls such as Mastodonsaurus which could reach up to 6 m ...
The jaw of a mudpuppy also plays a significant role in its diet. The mudpuppy jaw is considered metaautostyly, like most amphibians, meaning the jaw is more stable and that the salamander has a dentary. [15] This affects their diet by limiting the flexibility of the jaw to take in larger prey.
Its length was about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). [ 4 ] The generic name Amphibamus alludes to the two modes of locomotion of the animal, swimming with its oar-shaped tail, and crawling because of its long fingers with claws, [ 5 ] from Greek ἀμφί ( amphí ) "both" and -βάμων ( -bámōn ) "that goes" or βᾶμα ( bâma ) "leg".
Clawed frogs have powerful legs that help them move quickly both underwater and on land. Feral clawed frogs in South Wales have been found to travel up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) between locations. [11] The feet of Xenopus species have three black claws on the last three digits. These claws are used to rip apart food and scratch predators.
The feet are broad with short digits, usually four on the front feet and five on the rear. Salamanders do not have claws, and the shape of the foot varies according to the animal's habitat. Climbing species have elongated, square-tipped toes, while rock-dwellers have larger feet with short, blunt toes.
Eocaecilia, an Early Jurassic amphibian commonly considered one of the oldest (stem-group) caecilians. Little is known of the evolutionary history of the caecilians, which have left a very sparse fossil record. The first fossil, a vertebra dated to the Paleocene, was not discovered until 1972. [44]
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Amphipoda (/ æ m ˈ f ɪ p ə d ə /) is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods (/ ˈ æ m f ɪ p ɒ d z /) range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres (0.039 to 13 in) and are mostly detritivores or scavengers.