37 Examples of Amphibians (A to Z List & Pictures)

Examples of amphibians include frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians.

Amphibians are a group of animals that live in both the water and on land. They breathe through their skin, which is moistened by water.

There are many different types of amphibians – frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders – but all have two lungs or no lungs at all.

The term amphibian comes from the Greek word Amphi meaning “both” and bio meaning “life.”

Examples of Animals that Are Amphibians

1. African Bullfrog

These frogs live in swamps, ponds, or lakes that are partially shaded by trees or grasses on the banks of rivers and streams.

They often hide under logs and rocks during the day but emerge at night to hunt for prey such as insects, snails, spiders, and other amphibians.

2. African Clawed Frog

70-80 African Clawed Frogs are found in Africa, South America, and the southeastern part of the United States.

African clawed frogs lay their eggs on land or under rocks near water sources. Their tadpoles are brownish-black with yellow spots around their mouths.

Read Also: Are Amphibians Without Fur?

3. African Tree Toad

African Tree Toads are native to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in trees, shrubs, and bushes near water sources such as rivers, lakes, or marshes.

Because they have thin skin that easily absorbs moisture from humid air, African tree toads must keep their skin moist so they can breathe.

4. American Toad

American Toads live in North America; they can be found from southern Canada to Central America.

The American toad has warty skin, a long back-curving “surprise” tongue (which helps them catch insects), dry warty skin, and short hind legs with webbing.

5. Bullfrog

Bullfrogs live in temperate climates, mostly along the east coast of North America.

Bullfrogs mainly eat insects, but they also feed on fish and other frogs. Sometimes, these large amphibians even prey upon smaller individuals of their own species.

6. Burrowing Frog

Burrowing frogs live in areas that have moist soil and plenty of loose material to burrow into. They can be found along the coast, rivers, and at higher altitudes where there is more humidity.

The distribution of Burrowing Frogs is widespread across Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea including coastal regions as well as inland deserts like Queensland’s Channel Country.

7. Caecilian

Caecilian lives in the tropics. These legless, snake-like amphibians are sometimes called “worm” or “eel” salamanders because they resemble worms and eels.

They mostly eat small insects like termites, ants, and other arthropods that crawl through their underground burrows or under leaf litter on the forest floor.

8. Common Frog

The common frog lives in Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa.

9. Darwin’s Frog

7The Darwin’s frog inhabits the northern and central regions of Chile. It breeds in small, shallow water bodies such as bogs and slow-moving streams.

10. Desert Rain Frog

The Desert Rain Frog can be found in the deserts of southern Africa. It lives underground during the dry season and emerges only after the first rain has fallen.

11. Edible Frog

Edible Frog lives in the tropical rainforests of South and Central Europe.

The Edible Frog is a delicacy and an important source of protein to many cultures, especially those in the forests where it lives and in France.

12. Fire Salamander

The fire salamander has many adaptations that help it survive. One of these is its ability to excrete poisonous substances when threatened, which can discourage predators.

The skin contains glands that secrete mucus and give the animal a slimy coating in order to make it more difficult for predators to catch it. The underside of the Fire salamander is colored bright yellow, which makes it visible to potential predators from below.

13. Fire-Bellied Toad

Fire-bellied toads are mainly found in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

They called them fire belly toads because their belly is red in color. Ibs

14. Giant Salamander

The giant salamanders grow up to 1.5m (5ft) long, making them the second-largest amphibians in the world after the Chinese giant salamander. Their skin is a deep yellow color and becomes thicker towards their head.

They have a layer of slime on their skin to keep them moist, as they do not develop any body fat or waterproofing.

15. Glass Frog

Glass Frogs live in Central and South America. They are commonly found in the rainforest of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.

The Glass Frog ranges from 1/2 inch to 3 inches long and is primarily green or brown with a transparent belly that allows you to see its organs inside of it.

16. Goliath Frog

Goliath Frog is the largest living frog. It can weigh up to 7 pounds and grow as long as 912 inches.

People come from all over the world to see Goliath Frogs in their natural habitat in Cameroon, Africa.

17. Gray Tree Frog

The gray tree frog lives in eastern and central North America. The gray tree frog is the only member of the family Hylidae found east of the Mississippi River.

18. Green Frog

A common example of an amphibian is the Green Frog. This frog spends most of its life on land but lays eggs in water bodies such as ponds and streams.

19. Green Tree Frog

The green frog lives in eastern North America from Canada to Mexico. They are found from the east coast of the United States down into Florida.

20. Horned Frog

The Horned Frog lives in South America. This species of frog has a dark brown body and a yellow underside. It’s noticeable for the peaks above its eyes that look like horns.

21. Leopard Frog

The Leopard Frog can be found in most parts of the United States.

They spend their winters under rocks and logs, while during the summer they live in ponds, lakes, and rivers.

When mating season comes around this frog finds a mate. The male will make a deep croak to attract a female. She may lay two or three thousand eggs in a small pond or shallow part of a large lake.

22. Mantella Frog

It is a brightly colored, small frog that is less than two inches long. It has a red-orange body with black dots and rib-like lines of yellow or white across its back.

Its underside is almost completely solid yellow with some small patches of orange on the chest.

23. Marine Toad

Marine toads live in coastal and estuarine habitats where they sometimes bury themselves in moist sand or mud during the day.

24. Marsh Frog

The marsh frog is a small, brown frog that can only jump short distances at a time. It has a wide range of color variations ranging from yellow-brownish to dark brown or black. In addition, it will change color as it gets older, becoming darker as time goes on.

The marsh frog’s eardrums are not easy to see, but the ears look like small bumps on either side of its head.

25. Monte Iberia Eleuthère

The Monte Iberia Eleuthère lives in the tropical forests of Central and South America. It is about four inches long, weighs about one gram, and can be found on leaves or branches close to water.

26. Mudpuppy

Mudpuppies live in small streams and ponds. They spend their time hunting for fish, worms, insects, crayfish, snails, tadpoles, leeches, mollusks, and plants.

They are identified by the color of their coat which ranges from brown to greenish-brown with black spots on their back and tail. They have a long slender body that averages 16 inches in length.

27. Newt

Most newts are found in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in North America and Eurasia. For example, the sirens are found mostly in Europe.

They hunt mostly at night, waiting for prey on the bottom of the pond or lake. The prey is caught with the mouth, which can be shot out with amazing speed.

28. Olm

The olm or “human fish” is a small, blind amphibian that lives in caves and dark waters in Slovenia. It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in the same cave in 1986.

29. Poison Dart Frog

The poison dart frog lives in Central and South America. What does it look like? It is very small, only about 1 inch long.

The bright colors on the belly of the frog are important for attracting females, but they also serve as a warning to predators that the frog is poisonous.

30. Pool Frog

The pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) is a European frog. It is one of only four amphibian species recognized by the UK government as protected under its Biodiversity Action Plan.

The reasons for declining populations are decreased pond habitat from human encroachment and also air pollution leading to over-nitrification of pond waters.

31. Spotted Salamander

The Spotted Salamander is found naturally in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States.

Research shows that populations of this salamander have declined due to habitat loss and pollution, but it is still fairly common.

Related Article: Do Spotted Salamander Photosynthesize?

32. Scrotum Frog

The Scrotum Frog is a species of frog native to the subtropical or tropical dry lowland grasslands and rivers in southern Africa. The Scrotum Frog’s habitat is threatened by habitat loss through deforestation caused by agriculture and human settlement.

33. Spadefoot Toad

The spadefoot toad spends the bulk of its life underground in complete solitude. Because of the animal’s unusual behavior, most individuals will never see a spadefoot toad in their lives.

The toad, on the other hand, has a large range that extends across almost all of North America and Europe. They are some of the most elusive amphibians.

34. Striped Rocket Frog

The Striped Rocket Frog is an amphibian that lives in northern Australia and down the east coast as far south as Gosford, New South Wales.

It has yellow stripes on its back, which probably helps it to camouflage itself against predators like birds and snakes.

Besides this, this frog does not have many defenses when attacked by predators (and is not poisonous).

35. Tiger Salamander

The Tiger Salamander lives in the eastern half of the United States, from Maine to Florida and west to Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Their habitat includes wooded areas, streams nearby mountainsides or hillsides where water is readily available all year long. Their diet consists mainly of worms and insects.

36. Wood Frog

The wood frog is native to North America. It is found mostly in the eastern third of the continent, but can be found as far south as northern Mexico and as far west as British Columbia.

Wood frogs are woodland animals that spend most of their time near ponds or breeding sites that have suitable vegetation for egg-laying.

37. Wyoming Toad

The Wyoming Toad lives in Northern Colorado, Utah, Southern Wyoming, and Western Nebraska.

They live in high-altitude grasslands, Great Plains short grass prairies, and Great Basin sagebrush deserts where there is a suitable water supply.

Garreth

Hi, I’m Garreth. Living in South Africa I’ve had the pleasure of seeing most of these animals up close and personal. When I was younger I always wanted to be a game ranger but unfortunately, life happens and now at least I get to write about them and tell you my experiences.