Common toad
Patrick Fox
T he word ‘amphibian’ is derived from ancient Greek meaning ‘both kinds of life’ and was initially used for any animals that could live both in water and on land. The term was later restricted to the animal class Amphibia — a group of vertebrates characterised by being ectothermic (‘cold blooded’) and laying nonshelled eggs that lack the protection of an amnion (see BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, Vol. 24, No. 4, p. 21). All British amphibians lay their eggs in water, as seen in the common frogs (Rana temporaria) above right.
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