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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 origin of the order name Anura—and its original spelling Anoures—is the Ancient Greek alpha privative prefix ἀν-(an-from ἀ-before a vowel) 'without', [6] and οὐρά (ourá) 'animal tail'. [7] meaning "tailless". It refers to the tailless character of these amphibians. [8] [9] [10] The origins of the word frog are uncertain and ...
A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on plant matter. Frog skin has a rich microbiome which is important to their health. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass.
While the early amniotes resembled their amphibian ancestors in many respects, a key difference was the lack of an otic notch at the back margin of the skull roof. In their ancestors, this notch held a spiracle , an unnecessary structure in an animal without an aquatic larval stage. [ 25 ]
The word animal comes from the Latin noun animal of the same meaning, which is itself derived from Latin animalis 'having breath or soul'. [6] The biological definition includes all members of the kingdom Animalia. [7] In colloquial usage, the term animal is often used to refer only to nonhuman animals.
Researchers studying similar small-sized “flea toads” found this species to be particularly interesting due to its diminutive size as one of the smallest known vertebrate animals.
The following is a list of the classes in each phylum of the kingdom Animalia. There are 107 classes of animals in 33 phyla in this list. However, different sources give different numbers of classes and phyla. For example, Protura, Diplura, and Collembola are often considered to be the three orders in the class Entognatha. This list should by ...
Vertebrates (/ ˈ v ɜːr t ə b r ɪ t s,-ˌ b r eɪ t s /) [3] are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebrata with some 65,000 species, by far the largest ...