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amphibian

UK/æmˈfɪbɪən/US/æmˈfɪbɪən/
nounB1+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,254 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: amphibians

An amphibian is a creature that lives both in water and on land. Frogs and other amphibians, an amphibian survey, amphibians are declining.

Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders are the group, and most begin in water with gills and change body entirely to live on land. Their skin absorbs water and whatever is in it, which is why they are the first group to vanish from a polluted place.

User:Froggydarb · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of amphibian

  1. 1nounamphibianA creature that lives both in water and on land.B1+

    “Frogs, toads and newts are all amphibians.”

amphibian is an animal group.

Where it comes from

Greek amphibios means living a double life — amphi, both, plus bios, life.

  1. Ancient Greek

    ἀμφίβιος

  2. Latin

    amphibius

  3. English, today

    amphibian

Built from

  • ἀμφίς · Ancient Greek — of both kinds
  • βίος · Ancient Greek — life

Latin amphibius [from Ancient Greek ἀμφίβιος, from ἀμφίς (“of both kinds”) + βίος (“life”)] an.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Insects & Sea Life

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amphibian in the wild

  • Young amphibians generally undergo metamorphosis from an aquatic larval form with gills to an air-breathing adult form with lungs.

    Amphibian

  • Contrary to a common misconception, adult amphibians generally cannot breathe underwater.

    Amphibian

  • Since the 1980s, decreases in amphibian populations, including population decline and localized mass extinctions, have been observed in locations all over the world.

    Decline in amphibian populations

  • Modeling results found that the current extinction rate of amphibians could be 211 times greater than the background extinction rate.

    Decline in amphibian populations

  • The fungus is capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others.

    Chytridiomycosis

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.