Amphibians.
Publié le 15/05/2013
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AN AMPHIBIAN’S LIFE
Amphibians that live in cold places spend most of their time trying to keep wet and warm.
In hot places,they try to keep wet and cool and usually come out only at night.
During the day, they stay under rocksor logs or in the ground.
Amphibians hibernate (become inactive) during cold winters.
They become inactive in hot places during the summer.
Almost all grown-up amphibians are meat eaters.
Frogs and salamanders have sticky tongues.
They flickout their tongues to catch insects, spiders, and other animals.
Caecilians have sharp teeth for grabbingtheir prey.
Amphibians mate when it is rainy outside.
They gather in groups to find mates.
Some male salamandersshow bright colors to get the attention of females.
Male frogs call out to females.
Their call sounds likethis: “ribbet.” Female amphibians lay eggs in water or wet places on land.
Larvae hatch out of the eggs.
No one knows how long amphibians live in the wild.
Some captured toads have lived 30 years.
WHERE AMPHIBIANS LIVE
Amphibians live everywhere except Antarctica.
They can be found in grasslands, rain forests, evergreenforests, deserts, and mountain areas.
Caecilians live only in the tropics.
Amphibians need water to breed and have babies.
So most of them live near ponds, swamps, orstreams.
A few species can even find water in deserts.
Some burrowing frogs live in a dry part ofAustralia called the outback.
They breed and feed only when it rains, which is not very often.
DISAPPEARING AMPHIBIANS
Amphibians have lived on Earth for more than 300 million years.
But recently, something scary has beenhappening to them.
Amphibians are disappearing.
There are fewer and fewer amphibians in many partsof the world, including North America, South America, and Australia.
No one knows why.
Some amphibians have also been found with extra legs or other strange problems.
Scientists areworking hard to find out what is happening to the amphibians.
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