Tag archives for Amphibians
Posted by Giant salamanders must swim upstream to lay their eggs, but navigating all the dams can make the trip nearly impossible. A new program helps the salamanders get around the dams while still protecting the cities in Japan from flooding during the monsoon season. Watch the video to find out how they do it.
Get the facts on spotted salamanders on National Geographic Kids.
Learn more about Japan on National Geographic Kids.
See the video on National Geographic News.
Image courtesy Farish A. Jenkins, Jr./Harvard University
Scientists recently uncovered fossils of an extinct amphibian called Gerrothorax pulcherrimus whose mouth opens sort of like a toilet seat. The jaws of all other vertebrates (animals with a backbone) open wide by hinging down from their skull, while this creature lifted its head up to open its choppers. Gerrothorax lived about 210 million years ago. It lived in warm lakes and ate fish with its toilet seat mouth. It was about three feet (one meter) long and was flat with short limbs.
Farish Jenkins, of Harvard University, said that Gerrothorax was “the ugliest animal in the world.”
Read more about this freaky find on National Geographic News.
Read about dino discoveries on National Geographic Kids.
