An AMPHIBIAN is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that is born in water and breathes with gills. As the larva grows into its adult form, the animal's lungs develop the ability to breathe air, and the animal can live on land. Frogs, toads, and salamanders are all amphibians.
EASTERN NEWT Notophthalmus viridescens
The eastern newt has an unusual 3-part life cycle: it begins life as a fully aquatic creature with visible gills, and then enters a terrestrial bright orange “eft” stage (often encountered by hikers), and finally returns to the water as a yellow and green adult. To pass through these stages successfully, the eastern newt needs wetlands that are adjacent to forests.
WOOD FROG Lithobates sylvaticus
There is a tiny masked frog in these parts called a wood frog, Lithobates sylvaticus . When they first emerge from their swimming pollywog stage, they are froglets, only half an inch long but fully ready for life in the woods. Winter will come, and they will be tucked away under bark or grasses, slowing down for hibernation. They may even freeze, and live to tell the tale…