Category: Amphibians
This frogs are endemic to a very small area in Southwestern Australia. Though drably colored on their dorsal surfaces, the front of their underparts is bright orange. A unique adaptation is that they lay their eggs in a jelly mass in a shallow, terrestrial depression instead of in water – here they develop, without swimming or food, into the adult stage. Destruction and disturbance of their very restricted habitat is threatening the survival of this species and their relative, the white-bellied frog (Geocrinia alba).
Caecilians: The Limbless Enigma
Caecilians are amphibians with long, limbless bodies that resemble worms or snakes more than frogs or salamanders. Their name means “blind ones,” a reference to their tiny, skin-covered (or in some cases, non-existent) eyes - which probably don’t get much use, as they spend most their lives burrowing underground. Caecilians are unusual for amphibians in that 75% of them give birth to live young, oftentimes, fully formed. There are also a few species where the mother actually grows a layer of nutritious, fatty skin that is eaten off by her own young, which is analogous to breastfeeding in mammals.
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