Category: Amphibians
The horned marsupial frog is an arboreal species native to the tropical moist lowland forests and montane cloud forests of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. Their upper eyelid has a triangular peak, giving them a quizzical, alert appearance. This species lays the largest known eggs of any amphibian! Females brood their eggs in a pouch on their lower back until they emerge as fully developed froglets.
Caecilians: The Limbless Enigma
Caecilians are amphibians with long, limbless bodies that resemble worms or snakes more than frogs or salamanders. Their name means “blind ones,” a reference to their tiny, skin-covered (or in some cases, non-existent) eyes - which probably don’t get much use, as they spend most their lives burrowing underground. Caecilians are unusual for amphibians in that 75% of them give birth to live young, oftentimes, fully formed. There are also a few species where the mother actually grows a layer of nutritious, fatty skin that is eaten off by her own young, which is analogous to breastfeeding in mammals.
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