Frogs have been around for millions of years; in fact, their immediate ancestors roamed the Earth with the dinosaurs.
Frogs are tailless amphibians and can live both in water and on land. Their life cycle takes place in both environments. A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. In a few days tiny tadpoles wriggle out of the eggs. Tadpoles are fishlike creatures that breathe through gills instead of lungs. To become an adult frog, a tadpole loses its tail and develops lungs and limbs.
Frogs are found throughout the world except in very cold places.
A frog catches prey by flicking out its long, sticky tongue. Most frogs eat insects and worms. Some also eat other frogs, rodents, and reptiles.
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Snails belong to mollusks, which also includes oysters, clams, and squid. They are found throughout the world. Some live on land or in trees. Others live in water. Some of them spend the winter underground. Snails are one of the oldest inhabitants of the planet. Scientists claim that they appeared more than 500 million years ago. They can adapt to any environment and do not need a lot of food.
A snail has a shell, which protects it from heat and enemies. It has two long tentacles sticking out from the head. Each tentacle has an eye at the tip.
Snails eat plants and are eaten by snakes, toads, turtles, beetles, and birds.
Some snails may be only 2 mm in height, while other species may grow to 60 cm. Female snails are usually larger than males.
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Wombats are bear-like Australian marsupials, about the size of a small dog. They dig burrows and have perpetually growing teeth. They can weigh more than 40 kg and can be 1 m long.
They are gray or brownish gray and have bare, leathery pads with shovel-like claws.
The family Vombatidae includes three species. The critically endangered Queensland or northern hairynosed wombat is limited to a small area of Queensland National Park.
The southern hairy-nosed wombat lives in dry grasslands of southern Australia. They have fine white hairs on their nose.
The common wombat lives in forests on mountainsides and has leathery, bare nose and rounded ears.
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A hummingbird is a small bird with a long, slender bill, which lives only in the Americas. It has brightly colored, glittery feathers. The males are more colorful than the females. The male birds of some species have long tail feathers. These birds are named for the humming sound made by the rapid beating of their wings.
There are 320 species of hummingbirds, which make up the family Trochilidae. The largest, giant hummingbird is only about 20 centimeters long and weighs 20 grams. The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird of any kind and is 2.5 centimeters long.
Hummingbirds have small, weak legs, which are used only for perching, and not for walking. They only move about by flying. Hummingbirds can fly forward, sideways, straight up or down, and even backward.
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Squirrels are cute rodents with long bushy tails. The squirrel family also includes groundhogs, prairie dogs, and chipmunks.
Squirrels live on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. They also do not live in Madagascar, New Guinea and New Zealand.
Tree squirrels live in trees and are active year-round. Ground squirrels live in burrows and hibernate in winter.
These animals are about 10 centimeters long. The color varies from black through red, brown, and grey.
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The groundhog is a large rodent that is also called the woodchuck. Its scientific name is Marmota monax. The groundhog is a type of marmot and is also closely related to the ground squirrels and gophers.
It lives in meadows and forests of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
The groundhog weighs about 2 to 6 kilograms and is about 33 to 51 centimeters long. The fur is red or brown, with black or dark brown feet.
The tail and legs are short, while the fingers and toes have strong claws, useful for digging. Groundhogs are good diggers and spend a lot of time in their burrows. During the winter the groundhog hibernates. They have two types of burrows – summer and winter. The winter burrows are deep enough, even up to 7 meters deep. In addition, the burrows can be up to 100 meters long.
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Termites are social insects. They eat wood and can damage buildings, furniture, and other wooden items. Contrary to popular belief, the termites are close relatives of cockroaches, rather than ants.
There are more than 1,500 species of termite.
They are most commonly found in the tropical parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
These insects build damp nests in wood or underground. Their nests rise above the ground as mounds or towers and are made of dirt, clay, and chewed wood. A nest could be measured almost 6.66 m high and 33 m around and even more. Many nests are more than one hundred years old.
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