Amphibians Glossary

Question 1

Group of Tadpoles

Answer 1

School

Question 2

Group of Salamanders

Answer 2

Herd / Congress

Question 3

Group of Toads

Answer 3

Knot

Question 4

Group of Frogs

Answer 4

Army

Question 5

Non-random grouping often around scarce resources.

Answer 5

Aggregations

Question 6

Defense of an area within a home range, usually by males.

Answer 6

Territoriality

Question 7

Ability to return to original location after displacement.

Answer 7

Homing & Orientation

Question 8

Primary communication mode in frogs.

Answer 8

Acoustic Signals

Question 9

Some amphibians build nests, especially in humid environments.

Answer 9

Nesting

Question 10

Listening for anuran calls to estimate species richness.

Answer 10

Auditory Surveys

Question 11

Monitoring reproductive activity by counting egg masses and nests during breeding periods.

Answer 11

Egg Mass & Nest Counts

Question 12

Trapping aquatic animals within an enclosure in shallow, mucky substrates.

Answer 12

Stovepipe Sampling

Question 13

Time-constrained active searching, including road cruising and aerial surveys.

Answer 13

Visual Encounter Surveys VES

Question 14

Randomly distributed square plots searched for amphibians.

Answer 14

Quadrat Sampling

Question 15

A killer disease caused by a fungus that has significantly impacted amphibian populations.

Answer 15

Chytridiomycosis

Question 16

A passive sampling method using fences to guide animals into buried traps.

Answer 16

Terrestrial Drift Fences and Pitfall Traps

Question 17

A passive sampling method where animals are directed into a trap via a funnel and cannot easily escape.

Answer 17

Aquatic and Terrestrial Funnel Trapping

Question 18

A passive sampling method adapted for sampling stream-dwelling salamanders using bags filled with leaf litter.

Answer 18

Leaf-Litterbag Surveys

Question 19

A passive sampling method using PVC pipes as refuges, particularly for tree frogs.

Answer 19

PVC Pipe Surveys

Question 20

A passive sampling method utilizing logs, rocks, or other materials that amphibians hide under.

Answer 20

Artificial Cover

Question 21

An active sampling method in streams where substrate is lifted and moved into a net to capture aquatic animals.

Answer 21

Kick Sampling

Question 22

An active sampling method involving sweeping a net through aquatic habitats to capture herpetofauna, particularly amphibian larvae.

Answer 22

Dipnetting

Question 23

Amphibian sampling method using a linear strip searched for animals.

Answer 23

Transect Surveys

Question 24

A modification of quadrat sampling focusing on specific microhabitats.

Answer 24

Patch Sampling

Question 25

Any form of post-ovipositional parental behavior that increases offspring survival at some expense to the parent.

Answer 25

Parental Care

Question 26

A state of inactivity or dormancy that allows animals to survive hot, dry periods.

Answer 26

Estivation

Question 27

The appropriate term for a state similar to hibernation in cold-blooded animals.

Answer 27

Brumation

Question 28

Living on the ground but hidden in leaf litter, stones, or pieces of wood.

Answer 28

Cryptozoic

Question 29

The active defense of an area within a home range against intruders, usually due to the presence of a defendable resource.

Answer 29

Territoriality

Question 30

A type of acoustic signal primarily used by male frogs to attract conspecific females.

Answer 30

Advertisment Call

Question 31

A pair of elements in the amphibian auditory capsule that transmit airborne (columella) or seismic (operculum) signals.

Answer 31

Columella-Orpercular Complex

Question 32

A patch of sensory tissues in the amphibian ear sensitive to low frequency sound.

Answer 32

Papilla Amphibiorum

Question 33

The external eardrum, a structure present in most frogs but absent in salamanders and caecilians.

Answer 33

Tympanum

Question 34

Living in trees

Answer 34

Arboreal

Question 35

Movement by leaping, characteristic of frogs.

Answer 35

Saltatory Locomotion

Question 36

A method of movement where the body bends primarily in the plane of the substrate to propel an animal forward, used by aquatic salamanders for swimming.

Answer 36

Lateral Undulation

Question 37

A method of movement used by some limbless animals, like caecilians, where the body alternately folds and extends along its length.

Answer 37

Concertina Locomotion

Question 38

The outer, tertiary egg membrane of amphibian eggs, secreted by the oviduct.

Answer 38

Jelly Coat

Question 39

The inner, primary egg membrane of amphibian eggs, secreted by the egg cell.

Answer 39

Vitelline Membrane

Question 40

Describes an egg that contains a moderate amount of yolk, typically concentrated in the vegetal hemisphere.

Answer 40

Mesolecithal

Question 41

The regulation of body temperature based on external environmental sources of heat; characteristic of amphibians.

Answer 41

Ectothermy

Question 42

The physiological process of maintaining a regulated constant body temperature, characteristic of birds and mammals but not typically amphibians (which are ectothermic).

Answer 42

Homeothermy

Question 43

Gas exchange that occurs across the skin, facilitated by a network of cutaneous capillaries in amphibians.

Answer 43

Cutaneous Respiration

Question 44

A mechanism involving the pushing of air between the lungs and the closed mouth, found in fishes and amphibians, used for respiration.

Answer 44

Buccal Pump

Question 45

An extinct order of early amphibians, representing some of the earliest land-living vertebrates.

Answer 45

Ichthyostegalia

Question 46

Ray-finned fishes, a group of vertebrates.

Answer 46

Actinopterygii

Question 47

Fleshy-finned fishes, a group of vertebrates that includes the ancestors of tetrapods.

Answer 47

Sarcopterygii

Question 48

The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.

Answer 48

Phylogeny

Question 49

The development or developmental history of an individual organism.

Answer 49

Ontogeny

Question 50

The transformation of an amphibian larva to a miniature adult, usually involving a transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial or semi-terrestrial lifestyle.

Answer 50

Metamorphosis

Question 51

An order within Lissamphibia that includes limbless caecilians and their extinct relatives. Limbless, worm-shaped or snake-shaped amphibians that typically live hidden in soil or streambeds.

Answer 51

Gymnophiona (Apoda)

Question 52

An order within Lissamphibia that includes salamanders, newts, and their extinct relatives. Typically characterized by lizard-like appearance with slender bodies, tails, and limbs.

Answer 52

Caudata (Urodela)

Question 53

An order within Lissamphibia that includes frogs, toads, and their extinct relatives. Characterized by robust, tailless bodies and well-developed hindlimbs for leaping.

Answer 53

Anura

Question 54

A subclass of tetrapods that includes all modern amphibians, meaning "smooth amphibians" from Greek. It consists of Anura, Caudata, and Gymnophiona.

Answer 54

Lissamphibia

Question 55

Vertebrate tetrapods that include frogs, salamanders, and caecilians, characterized by metamorphosis and a life cycle often involving both aquatic and terrestrial phases. The term loosely translates to "dual life."

Answer 55

Amphibian

Question 56

A vertebrate with four limbs (or derived from ancestors with four limbs). The name means "four feet" in Greek.

Answer 56

Tetrapod