The Kinds of Amphibians and Reptiles
DIFFERENT KINDS OF AMPHIBIANS
Manitoba's amphibians belong to two groups. Salamanders are one group. They have long bodies, a long tail and all their legs are about the same size. Salamanders crawl on their bellies or swim by waving their tails. Male and female salamanders are about the same size and colour.
The other group of amphibians are the frogs, toads and treefrogs. The adults have short bodies, no tail and their back legs are much bigger than the front legs. On land they hop and they use their feet to do the frog-kick when they swim. Females are usually much larger than the males, and they can be different colours from the males.
Male frogs, toads and treefrogs all call or "croak" to attract females for mating. Males and females have good hearing. They have large, round eardrums, called tympanums, behind their eyes. Males usually have larger tympanums than females. This is one way to tell males from females.
The eardrums, or tympanums, of a male and female Green Frog.
Frog, toad or treefrog? Frogs have soft, smooth skin. Their back legs are much longer than their front legs. Toads have rougher skin with small bumps called warts. Their back legs are not much bigger than their front legs. Treefrogs have smooth skin and longer hind legs. Treefrog feet usually have sticky pads on each toe and they can grab onto sticks or branches. Frogs and toads can't grab things with their feet.
In Manitoba you can find four different kinds of salamanders, four kinds of frogs, four toads and four treefrogs.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF REPTILES
Manitoba's reptiles belong to three groups. Snakes are one group. They have long, slender bodies, a tail and no legs. Snakes crawl on their bellies or swim by waving their whole body. Female snakes are usually larger than males, but are the same colour. (*** None of our snake species are venomous. They are all harmless! ***)
The second group of reptiles are lizards. Lizards have long, slender bodies with long tails and four short legs. They crawl on their bellies using their legs and waving their bodies. Male lizards are usually a bit bigger than females. In mating season males can have different colours from females.
Our largest reptile, the Common Snapping Turtle.
Turtles are the other group of reptiles. They have short bodies covered in a bony shell. They have four legs. Some have short necks and tails. Others have long necks and long tails. Males and females are the same colour. In some kinds the females are larger than males, but in others it's the males that are larger. Turtles use their feet to crawl on land or swim in water.
In Manitoba you can find five different kinds of snakes, one lizard, and two different turtles.
Next: Amphibian Life Cycles
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