Amphibians


 * 'am**|**phib**|**i**|**an** «am FIHB ee uhn», //noun,// //plural// **-i**|**ans**, **-i**|**a** «-ee uh», //adjective.//

//**–**//n**//.//** "Amphibian." //World Book On Line Reference Center//. 01 Jan. 2009 
 * 1) A cold-blooded animal, usually having moist skin without scales. Amphibian young hatch from eggs in water and usually have gills for breathing under water. Later they develop legs and most develop lungs. Frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders are amphibians.
 * = [[image:video.jpg link="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/amphibians-animals/frogs-and-toads/frog_tadpole_development.html"]] ||= ||= media type="file" key="amphibian.wav" ||

. Amphibians change from creatures that must live in the water into land animals in a process called //metamorphosis.// When they are born, they look and act more like a fish. When fully grown, they look and act much more like a land animal.

Amphibians are cold-blooded, meaning that their body temperature is about the same as the air temperature. Many live in warm places, but the gray tree frog has a substance similar to antifreeze in their body that allows the animals to survive freezing solid.

Amphibians are usually small. The smallest amphibians are frogs less than the size of a human thumbnail. The Chinese giant salamander is unusually large, and may grow up to about 6 feet long!

Amphibians live on every continent except Antarctica. [|Map].

Forester, Don C. "Amphibian." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2009. [Place of access.] 1 Jan. 2009 .