AMPHIBIAN POEM
My sister found two salamanders,
Said she wanted more,
Said she’d like to start a farm,
Or salamander store…
She trusted the terrarium,
To keep them wet and damp,
“We’ll have some baby salamanders!”
Before we leave for camp!
Sister waited day and night,
For babies to appear,
But never saw new crawly things,
She searched from front to rear…
Suddenly she noticed!
And what she saw was great!
She witnessed swimming, tiny things,
She counted, there were eight!
“I got no salamanders,
It looks like I got fish,
They’re super wiggly, swimming quickly,
In the water’s dish…”
Surprisingly they crawled out,
Very, very strange!
Emerged right from the water,
They’d undergone a change!
“They looked like little fishies!
But now they creep on land,
They’re breathing air!
They’re growing legs!
They’re walking in the sand!
My mother said,
“Just stop,
I’ll speak to you with candor,
What you thought were baby fish,
Were larval salamander!
They weren’t little fishies,
It’s metamorphosis!
Baby salamanders,
Aren’t baby fish!”
What is an amphibian?
Amphibians are 4-legged vertebrates that are related to reptiles
While reptiles and amphibians both hatch from eggs, most amphibians start off their lives as larval forms in water, such as tadpoles, and then undergo metamorphosis as they mature into adults.
The main types of amphibians are:
Frogs
Newts and Salamanders
The largest amphibian is the South China Giant Salamander which can grow to over 5 feet long
The smallest amphibian is a frog from New Guinea which is only 1/3 of an inch long.
Around the world, amphibians are dying off and scientists are rushing to help. Please protect amphibian’s habitats as these animals are extremely sensitive to changes in their biomes.
