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Except in the family Salamandridae, the head, body, and tail have a number of vertical depressions in the surface which run from the mid-dorsal region to the ventral area and are known as costal grooves. Their function seems to be to help keep the skin moist by channeling water over the surface of the body. [13] Sirens have an eel-like appearance.
The word amphibian is derived from the Ancient Greek term ἀμφίβιος (amphíbios), which means 'both kinds of life', ἀμφί meaning 'of both kinds' and βίος meaning 'life'. The term was initially used as a general adjective for animals that could live on land or in water, including seals and otters. [8]
The only amphibians to bear claws are the African clawed frogs. Claws evolved separately in the amphibian and amniote (reptiliomorph) line. [12] However, the hairy frog has claw analogues on its feet; the frog intentionally dislocates the tips of its fingers to unsheathe the sharp points of its last phalanges.
Reptiliomorpha (meaning reptile-shaped; in PhyloCode known as Pan-Amniota [2] [3]) is a clade containing the amniotes and those tetrapods that share a more recent common ancestor with amniotes than with living amphibians (lissamphibians).
[17] [18] Unlike other modern amphibians (frogs and salamanders) the skull is compact and solid, with few large openings between plate-like cranial bones. The snout is pointed and bullet-shaped, used to force their way through soil or mud. In most species the mouth is recessed under the head, so that the snout overhangs the mouth. [10]
This week, meet a shroom frog, explore an asteroid shaped by a NASA mission, marvel at a fish louder than elephant, get an update on Odie’s moon landing, and more.
The spines are modified hairs and are made of keratin, the same fibrous protein that makes up fur, claws, nails, and horn sheaths in animals. [2] Spines of the echidna. Superficially, they resemble the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs and porcupines. They are usually black or brown in coloration.
A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy. Autotomy (from the Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing", αὐτοτομία) or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, [1] usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape.