By: Amy Zerbe, Marissa Hawthorne and Ankit Patel

Fish Fish are the world’s oldest vertebrates. The first fish appeared around 500 million years ago. There are over 24,000 species today.

Fish Continued… They breathe using gills, which draw oxygen from the water and into the bloodstream. These gills are located on the side of the fish’s head. Most have bones, but some are made of cartilage.

Fish Continued… Class Agnatha (Jawless Fish) - no jaws, no paired fins, skeleton made of cartilage not bone. EX. Hagfish

Fish Continued… Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) - skeleton made of cartilage, paired fins. EX. Shark

Fish End Class Osteichyes (bony fish) – skeleton made of bone, paired fins, most fish are bony fish. EX. Nemo ntouts/Fishcoloring.shtml ntouts/Fishcoloring.shtml

Amphibians The earliest Frog is about 190 million years old. They have 3 chambered hearts. Sometimes they don’t have lungs, or they have reduced lungs, but they breath through their skin. Breathing through the skin is called Cutaneous Gas Exchange. Frogs have smooth skin and live in water most of their life, but toads have rough skin and live on land most of their life. Female toads don’t make much noise, but males make a lot of noise.

Amphibians Continued… In extreme climates, frogs enter dormancy which is called estivation. When they are in estivation, they require very little oxygen. Unlike the tails of lizards, salamanders don’t have fracture zones. They also can regenerate their limbs. Ex. They can escape by making their tail fall off.

Amphibians Continued… Amphibians are really good bio-indicators. This means that they can tell something about the environment they live in. Ex. They camouflage themselves in different environments. They can adapt to the conditions in water and land.

Blood type Amphibians are cold-blooded and get their heat from outside sources. Their temperature depends on the environment they live in. Amphibians become more active in warmer weather than cold weather. They are very lazy during colder weather.

Habitat They start their life underwater, then move towards land during adulthood. Amphibians adapt to many different habitats, including man made environments. They prefer wet and moist environments, which include wetlands, shallow ponds, and marsh pools.

Nutrition Amphibians are carnivores. They eat many types of fish, small reptiles, and even other amphibians. On land, they eat worms and insects (such as spiders and flies). Frogs eat by protruding out their tongue, and caecilians kill their prey with their sharp teeth.

Breeding Amphibians mostly breed in fresh water. However, some do breed in moist places, in the ground, and even on leaves. Their eggs are clear, with a jelly-like texture. Eggs – laid in masses in the water. Most of them go through metamorphosis, but in some cases the eggs hatch into mini frogs and live in damp places.

Works Cited characteristics-of-amphibians.html characteristics-of-amphibians.html mccoy.com/movies/2003/images/FindingNemo1.jpg mccoy.com/movies/2003/images/FindingNemo1.jpg content/uploads/2007/07/dory.jpg content/uploads/2007/07/dory.jpg /images/Clown_Fish_.jpeg /images/Clown_Fish_.jpeg

Works Cited 0Frog.JPG 0Frog.JPG e/ /2/istockphoto_ frog-catching-a- fly.jpg e/ /2/istockphoto_ frog-catching-a- fly.jpg g/Images/bellfrog_illus.jpg g/Images/bellfrog_illus.jpg xwidth=475 xwidth=475