Home > Animals > Interesting Facts > Swiss Army Skin


Swiss Army Skin


By: staff   Date: 04/4/2018


Amphibian skin is not covered in hair, feathers, or scales. It is thin and permeable, which allows them to actually breathe and drink through their skin! Their skin is not watertight, but they have mucous glands that produce secretions to help keep them from drying out Their skin also serves as a handy defense mechanism: nearly all amphibians have poison glands that make their skin toxic - and on top of that, it can even serve as a tasty treat after they shed it (yes, many amphibians eat their own sloughed off skin)!


Related Amphibians

(Hypsiboas calcaratus)

(Ceratophrys cranwelli)

(Gastrotheca cornuta)

(Litoria caerulea)

Other Amphibians Facts
An Ample Amphibian

Before reptiles and mammals appeared to challenge amphibian supremacy on the land, amphibians were much larger. But while…
Learn more >>

Caecilians: The Limbless Enigma

Caecilians are amphibians with long, limbless bodies that resemble worms or snakes more than frogs or salamanders. Their…
Learn more >>

Make sure you retract your eyes 30 times before swallowing!

It has long been known that Frogs retract their eyes and close them while eating, leading scientists to suspect that frogs…
Learn more >>

Only a Mother’s Love…

We are taught that toads leave their fertilized eggs in the water in long strings, which hatch into tadpoles, who live…
Learn more >>

Interesting Animal Facts

Fish are masters of aquatic living, though some manage to do pretty well on land, too! Of living species, the mudskipper…


Could it be we have been too good at ridding our bodies of parasitic worms? Believe it or not, our efforts at keeping…


Invertebrates were the first animals to evolve. While their soft bodies left precious few records behind, there are fossils…


Before reptiles and mammals appeared to challenge amphibian supremacy on the land, amphibians were much larger. But while…


The largest, most aggressive female anemonefish rules the roost - she is the dominant member of the social group, and…


Can you imagine spending nearly all of your life in the air? The common swift doesn’t have to - it just does! From the…


NAIA - National Animal Interest Alliance Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
To learn more about the NAIA or about other NAIA programs, visit us at www.NAIAOnline.org
if you would like to help, join or support the NAIA or any of its programs please click here >>