Tadpole of the Caucasian Parsley Frog

The Caucasian Parsley Frog (Pelodytes caucasicus) is a freshwater amphibian in the Pelodytidae family of frogs. 

The Caucasian Parsley Frog begins its life as an egg. The adult female frog is oviparous, laying eggs. The female lays 40-300 eggs near reeds in a still body of water. The eggs hatch after about 14 days. 

The eggs hatch into tadpoles. 

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Young African Clawed Frogs regenerate lost and damaged tails and limbs

Young African Clawed Frogs regenerate lost and damaged tails and limbs. Adult African Clawed Frogs also regenerate their lost limbs, but the newly regenerated limb is often not fully functional.

The African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) is an aquatic, freshwater amphibian in the Pipidae family of tongueless frogs. It is also known as the African Clawed Toad, or the African Claw-Toed Frog. It grows to 10-13 centimetres (4-5 inches) in length. 

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Capillaria Nematode

The Capillaria Nematode (Capillaria pterophylli) is a freshwater aquatic parasitic roundworm in the Trichosomoididae family of nematodes. It is found in and attached to Goldfish and other freshwater fish. It is a disease in the fish, and eventually kills the fish. It is a capillarid. 

The Capillaria Nematode is very small and difficult to see. It is transparent (clear or see-through). It is long and cyclindrical like a worm (but not flat like a flatworm). It is smooth. It has a thorny head at one end. 

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Geoffroy’s Side-Necked Turtle

The Geoffroy’s Side-Necked Turtle (Phrynops geoffroanus) is a freshwater aquatic reptile in the Chelidae family of long-necked turtles. It is a chelonian or a chelid. Chelonians include turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. It is also known as the Geoffroy’s Toadhead Turtle. 

The Geoffroy’s Side-Necked Turtle is black to dark-grey. Its carapace (top shell) is slightly domed. Its tail and legs are grey-brown, and its plastron underbelly (bottom shell) is yellowish. Instead of its neck sticking in and out, it has a side-necked position where it places its head sideways in its shell. It has four sharp claws on its feet. 

The Geoffroy’s Side-Necked Turtle does not have a hinged plastron, so it has to put its head sideways under its shell. But this means that it has a strong neck. When it is upside down, it can flick its muscular neck to right itself – to turn itself the right way up. Other terrapins and tortoises are unable to do this. 

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South American Fur Seal

The South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) is an aquatic marine (saltwater) mammal in the Pinnipedia clade and Otariidae family of sea lions and fur seals. It is a pinniped (fin-footed) and an otariid (eared seal).

The South American Fur Seal has dark-grey or brown fur. The male has a mane of hair around its neck. It has a thick neck, broad chest, broad shoulders, and an upturned nose. It has white whiskers on its chin called vibrissae. It does not have external ear flaps.

It has flippers for swimming. Its movement in water is called aquatic locomotion. Its body is streamlined with oily fur for swimming fast underwater. It has a fatty body, called blubber, which keeps it warm and buoyant. It has a flexible spine (backbone). It has short fins, and on land, it has difficulty walking, so it crawls.

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Dog Whelk Sea Snail

The Dog Whelk Sea Snail (Nucella lapillus) is a marine (saltwater) mollusc gastropod in the Muricidae family of rock sea snails. It is also called the Atlantic Dogwinkle. 

The Dog Whelk is usually whitish-grey, but it can be a variety of colours, such as orange, yellow, brown, black, or banded. It has a hard, external shell, called an exo-skeleton, that is smooth with a pointed spire. It has a short, straight siphon canal. The shell shape varies, depending upon the tidal waves, but it is usually rounded and spirally corded. Most of its body is made of whorls. The aperture (hole or lip) is quite wide.

The Dog Whelk, like other Sea Snails, has a single auricle (chamber) in its heart, and a single pair of gill slits for breathing. 

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Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?

Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?

The Mexican Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a freshwater amphibian in the salamander family. It is also known as the Mexican Walking Fish, but it is not a fish. Toads, frogs, newts, salamanders and axolotl are amphibians, living partly in water and partly on land. 

Unlike other amphibians, the Mexican Axolotl never leaves the water – it remains aquatic and never goes on land, so it does not walk on land. 

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How do snakes move?

How do snakes move?

Snakes do not have legs, so they slither and slide. But what does this mean?

Snake locomotion (movement) can be serpentine, concertina, rectilinear, or sidewinding.

Serpentine movement is also called lateral undulation, and it is the most common way for snakes to move. The movement looks like an ‘S’ shape. Terrestrial snakes, that live on the ground, use this type of movement. Aquatic snakes, that live in water, also use this type of movement. 

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African Clawed Frog

The African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) is an aquatic, freshwater amphibian in the Pipidae family of tongueless frogs. It is also known as the African Clawed Toad or the African Claw-Toed Frog. 

The African Clawed Frog is greenish-grey with olive-green markings, but albino (white) frogs are common. It has smooth, slippery skin. Its underbelly is creamy-white. It has three short claws on each hind (back) foot. It has webbed feet only on its back feet. Its back legs are very powerful. It front legs have long fingers. It has eyes, with red pupils, on the top of its head. It has a curved, flat nose.

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Marine Animal

What is a marine animal?

A marine animal is any animal (and bird) that lives in and around the ocean and its waters (saltwater). 

A marine animal can have gills (to breathe air when they are underwater) or lungs (to breathe air at the surface of the water). 

A marine animal can have fins or be finless. It can live in the middle of the ocean or on the bottom of the sea. It can fly and live around ocean coasts. 

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Antarctic Glyptonotus

The Antarctic Glyptonotus (Glyptonotus antarcticus) is a giant marine (saltwater) isopod crustacean. A crustacean includes crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. 

The Antarctic Glyptonotus has a disc-shaped body with small outgrowths of hairs and knobbly scales. It has two pairs of compound eyes; one pair of eyes on its back and a smaller pair of eyes on its side. It has three pairs of front claws and eight legs.

It swims upside down. 

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Snapping Turtle

The Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentine) is a freshwater, aquatic reptile. It is also known as the Snapper or the Common Snapping Turtle. 

The Snapping Turtle has powerful beak-like jaws. It has a slightly domed, serrated-edged (saw-toothed) upper shell, called a carapace. The lower shell, called the plastron, is narrower than the upper shell. It has a long tail – as long as the upper shell – and a long, snake-like neck. It is mostly greyish-brown. It has stumpy legs with claws, and webbing between the claws, which enable it to walk on land and swim in water. It does not have flippers like the sea turtle. 

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