Sunscreen, Frogsicles, and Other Amazing Amphibian Adaptations

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Amphibian Adaptations LAURA PERDEW

Illustrated by Katie Mazeika

Amphibian Cinquain Emei Mustache Toad Amphibian Barbed, ready Fighting, wrestling, stabbing, Uses his cool barbed mustache Toad

Wallace’s Flying Frog Amphibian Emerald, acrobatic Leaping, gliding, landing Escapes danger by flying Frog

Alaskan Wood Frog Amphibian Tough, camouflaged Freezing, thawing, hopping Frogsicle in the winter Wood frog.

Amphibians have many amazing adaptations to help them survive.

Have you heard of the strange-looking axolotl? It can regrow body parts. Maybe you already know about the tiny poison dart frogs in South America that are DEADLY poisonous.

But do you know how waxy monkey tree frogs protect their skin from the sun?

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Sunscreen!

Just like people, waxy monkey tree frogs put on sunscreen.

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But they’re not protecting themselves from sunburn. They use the sunscreen to keep their skin from drying out.

Their bodies produce a waxy substance that they rub all over their bodies.

With their super-flexible arms and legs, they can reach all tricky places!

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While waxy monkey tree frogs need to protect against the hot sun, Alaskan wood frogs have to protect against the cold winter.

They become frogsicles!

When the temperature drops, wood frogs freeze over and wait until spring. Then, as the air warms, they thaw out and hop away. How? They have natural anti-freeze in their blood.

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Water-holding frogs have to survive a different kind of season—the dry spells in Australia. To do this, they burrow deep underground while the soil is still soggy.

Then, they shed their skin and use it to create a cocoon!

It’s like a sleeping bag made of skin.

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c s a g n o r stay f g n i d l o h r e u p r o t o f d two ye Wat e i r u b ars !

When the rain returns, they break out of the cocoon and hop along on their merry way.

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Sirens create cocoons, too, if they need to wait out a dry period. But instead of using skin, sirens make cocoons out of mucus.

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Mucus is a fancy word for a snot-like slime.

Ick? Not for these two-armed, no-legged salamanders that love mud and shallow water! Those snot cocoons help them survive until their habitat fills with water again.

Sirens are a type of salamander.

They have a beak, only two front legs, and gills.

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Activity Time!

Amphibians Near You Amphibians are found all around the world, except Antarctica.

That means there are amphibians living near you! And every amphibian has many adaptations that help it survive. They must be able to find food, take shelter, and stay safe.

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WHAT YOU NEED a notebook and paper, research materials

WHAT YOU DO Choose an amphibian to study that lives near you. Find out what adaptations it has. Some of these adaptations have to do with how the amphibian looks.

Other adaptations have to do with how it acts.

You might go to a zoo or aquarium to talk to an expert. You can visit a park and talk to a ranger.

Head to the library and find books and websites for more information. How many adaptations can you identify? credit: Cameron M. Hudson, Jinzhong Fu (CC BY 2.5)

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Now, draw or find a picture of your amphibian. Then, share your research on all of the amphibian’s adaptations with your friends!

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Amphibians are cold-blooded animals that spend part of their lives in the water and part on land.

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The young usually hatch from eggs as tadpoles in the water.

Amphibians are born with gills so they can breathe in the water.

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credit: Zleng (CC BY 2.0)

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Most amphibian young do not look like their parents. As they grow, they go through metamorphosis—the process during which their bodies change into adult form.

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credit: Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0)

Frogs and toads have several differences! Frogs live in wet habitats. Their skin is usually slimy and smooth. Toads live in dry habitats.

Their skin is rough and bumpy.

credit: T om Thai (CC BY 2.0)

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Glossary to become better suited to its environment.

amphibian: a cold-blooded animal, such as a

toad, frog or salamander, that needs sunlight to keep warm and shade to stay cool. Amphibians live on land and in the water.

lamande Fire sa r

anti-freeze: a substance that keeps something from freezing.

camouflage:

colors or patterns that allow a plant or animal to blend in with its environment.

cocoon:

a protective covering.

gills: an animal

part that lets the creature get oxygen out of the water to breathe.

habitat: an area that a plant or animal calls home. keratin: a substance that forms fingernails,

beaks, hair, feathers, and claws.

mating: reproducing to

make something new, just like itself. To make babies.

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metamorphosis:

an animal’s complete change in physical form as it develops into an adult.

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adaptation: a change that a living thing makes

mucus:

a slippery substance produced in bodies and used for protection.

nutrients:

substances that living things need to live and grow.

parasite: a living

thing that feeds off another living thing.

predator: an animal or plant that

kills and eats another animal.

substance: a kind of matter.

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CHILDREN’S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK

focus on science

AGES: 5–9 GUIDED READING LEVEL: TBD

How do sunscreen and mucus help amphibians survive?

In Sunscreen, Frogsicles, and Other Amazing Amphibian Adaptations, kids ages 5 to 9 discover how one frog gets sunscreen to protect itself through the dry season and how another uses its own mucus to create a cocoon. Amphibians spend part of their time on land and part in the water, so they’ve evolved fascinating methods of surviving these different environments. Detailed illustrations, funny narrative, layered text, and backmatter all point science-minded, curious kids toward the fascinating world of animal adaptation!

Sunscreen, Frogsicles, and Other Amazing Amphibian Adaptations is part of a set of five books in the Picture Book Science series that explore awesome tales of adaptation.

CHECK OUT THE OTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES!

PUB DATE: August 2020 PB: 9781619309647, $9.95 HC: 9781619309616, $19.95 5 Book Hardcover Set: 9781619309654, $96.95 eBook: all formats available, $6.99 Specs: 9½ x 9½, 32 pages, color interior with illustrations Ages: 5–9 Grade Level: 1–4

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