amphibian

/æmˈfɪbiən/

/æmˈfɪbiən/

Other forms: amphibians

An amphibian is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that is born in water and breathes with gills. As the larva grows into its adult form, the animal's lungs develop the ability to breathe air, and the animal can live on land. Frogs, toads, and salamanders are all amphibians.

The word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, which means "to live a double life." The noun amphibian has its roots in the words amphi, meaning "of both kinds," and bios, meaning "life." The word is used for the class of animals that spend part of their lives in water and part on land. The word can also be used as an adjective to describe the animals that live this way. You might be interested to know that the largest amphibian weighs about 140 pounds and the smallest weighs only a few grams.

Definitions of amphibian

1. noun

   cold-blooded vertebrate typically living on land but breeding in water; aquatic larvae undergo metamorphosis into adult form
   types:

   Hynerpeton bassetti

   fossil amphibian of the Devonian having well-developed forelimbs; found in Pennsylvania

   Ichyostega

   early tetrapod amphibian found in Greenland

   caudate, urodele

   amphibians that resemble lizards

   salamander

   any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed

   anuran, batrachian, frog, salientian, toad, toad frog

   any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species

   blindworm, caecilian

   any of the small slender limbless burrowing wormlike amphibians of the order Gymnophiona; inhabit moist soil in tropical regions

   labyrinthodont

   an amphibian of the superorder Labyrinthodontia

   European fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra

   a kind of European salamander

   Salamandra maculosa, fire salamander, spotted salamander

   European salamander having dark skin with usually yellow spots

   Salamandra atra, alpine salamander

   ovoviviparous amphibian of the Alps

   newt, triton

   small usually bright-colored semiaquatic salamanders of North America and Europe and northern Asia

   ambystomid, ambystomid salamander

   small to moderate-sized terrestrial or semiaquatic New World salamander

   Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, hellbender, mud puppy

   large salamander of North American rivers and streams

   Megalobatrachus maximus, giant salamander

   large (up to more than three feet) edible salamander of Asia

   Proteus anguinus, olm

   European aquatic salamander with permanent external gills that lives in caves

   Necturus maculosus, mud puppy

   aquatic North American salamander with red feathery external gills

   dicamptodon, dicamptodontid

   salamanders found near cold streams throughout the year

   Dicamptodon ensatus, Pacific giant salamander

   large (to 7 inches) salamander of western North America

   Rhyacotriton olympicus, olympic salamander

   small large-eyed semiaquatic salamander of the United States Northwest

   lungless salamander, plethodont

   mostly terrestrial salamanders that breathe through their thin moist skin; lay eggs in moist places on land; rarely enter water

   Plethodon cinereus, eastern red-backed salamander

   common salamander of eastern North America

   Plethodon vehiculum, western red-backed salamander

   salamander of the Pacific coast of North America

   dusky salamander

   common North American salamander mottled with dull brown or greyish-black

   climbing salamander

   any of several North American salamanders adapted for climbing with well-developed limbs and long somewhat squared-off toes

   slender salamander, worm salamander

   any of several small slim salamanders of the Pacific coast of the United States

   web-toed salamander

   any of several salamanders with webbed toes and very long extensile tongues; excellent climbers that move with ease over smooth rock surfaces

   amphiuma, blind eel, congo eel, congo snake

   aquatic eel-shaped salamander having two pairs of very small feet; of still muddy waters in the southern United States

   siren

   eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

   ranid, true frog

   insectivorous usually semiaquatic web-footed amphibian with smooth moist skin and long hind legs

   leptodactylid, leptodactylid frog

   toothed frogs: terrestrial or aquatic or arboreal

   robber frog

   small terrestrial frog of tropical America

   Hylactophryne augusti, barking frog, robber frog

   of southwest United States and Mexico; call is like a dog's bark

   Leptodactylus pentadactylus, South American bullfrog, crapaud

   large toothed frog of South America and Central America resembling the bullfrog

   tree frog, tree-frog

   any of various Old World arboreal frogs distinguished from true frogs by adhesive suckers on the toes

   Ascaphus trui, bell toad, ribbed toad, tailed frog, tailed toad

   western North American frog with a taillike copulatory organ

   Liopelma hamiltoni

   primitive New Zealand frog with four unwebbed toes on forefeet and five on hind feet

   true toad

   tailless amphibian similar to a frog but more terrestrial and having drier warty skin

   Alytes obstetricans, midwife toad, obstetrical toad

   European toad whose male carries the fertilized eggs wrapped around its hind legs until they hatch

   Alytes cisternasi, midwife toad

   similar in habit to Alytes obstetricians

   Bombina bombina, fire-bellied toad

   toad of central and eastern Europe having red or orange patches mixed with black on its underside

   spadefoot, spadefoot toad

   a burrowing toad of the northern hemisphere with a horny spade-like projection on each hind foot

   tree frog, tree toad, tree-frog

   arboreal amphibians usually having adhesive disks at the tip of each toe; of southeast Asia and Australia and America

   Gastrophryne olivacea, western narrow-mouthed toad

   small secretive toad with smooth tough skin of central and western North America

   Gastrophryne carolinensis, eastern narrow-mouthed toad

   small toad of southeastern United States

   sheep frog

   mostly of Central America

   tongueless frog

   almost completely aquatic frog native to Africa and Panama and northern South America

   South American poison toad

   a South American toad

   type of:

   craniate, vertebrate

   animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
2. adjective

   relating to or characteristic of animals of the class Amphibia
   synonyms: amphibious
3. noun

   a flat-bottomed motor vehicle that can travel on land or water
   synonyms: amphibious vehicle

   types:

   marsh buggy, swamp buggy

   an amphibious vehicle typically having four-wheel drive and a raised body

   type of:

   automotive vehicle, motor vehicle

   a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not run on rails
4. noun

   an airplane designed to take off and land on water
   synonyms: amphibious aircraft

   type of:

   aeroplane, airplane, plane

   an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets