Amphibians are cold-blooded (ectothermic) vertebrates. So, their body temperature stays at or near the temperature of the ground or air and they have a spine. All the amphibian species you will learn about here, will grow from an egg to a juvenile while underwater. While they are in that aquatic form, they have no lungs; they must get oxygen from the water. When they change form (metamorphose) into an adult, they acquire lungs that can get oxygen from the air.
Many amphibians must keep their skin moist even after they migrate away from the vernal pools as adults. Mammal burrows offer a damp place to hide and hunt for spiders, insects and other prey. What reptiles might also be hiding and hunting for amphibians there?
