The Amazing World of Reptiles and Amphibians Quiz

Answer: Frog

It was a frog. Frogs usually have a life cycle of 12-16 weeks. Their eggs usually hatch in water, but the gastric brooding mother frog swallows her eggs and the tadpoles come out of the mouth as tiny frogs after growing inside mother's tummy.

The frogs can camouflage or produce skin toxins to escape predators, but the tomato frog follows an unusual way. If threatened, they puff themselves up with air so that they appear too big to be swallowed.

Toads generally have dry, horny skin and lack webbed feet.

Answer: Salamander

It was a salamander. They are similar to lizards; they also possess four short limbs and a very long tail. They can regenerate some body parts. They do not have any scales, feathers or hair on their bodies. They feed on small water insects, fish, frogs or other salamanders. One unique feature of salamanders is the fact that they are completely voiceless animals.

Answer: A caecilian

The word "caecilian" has been derived from the Latin word "caecus" meaning blind. The smaller caecilians resemble worms, while the larger species that are about 1.5 metres in length resemble snakes. All caecilians have two tentacles on their heads which helps them to detect chemicals dissolved in the air.

Answer: Newt

It was a newt. They are found in North America, Europe and North Asia. They are probably the most well-known examples of creatures that can regenerate eyes, limbs or even the spinal cord! They are unique among amphibians because of their three distinct phases of life cycle: aquatic larval stage, immature terrestrial eft stage and aquatic adult stage.

Answer: Lizards

Lizards usually have a dry, scaly skin, though a few like the skink have shiny scales. Lizards have slit-like openings in their head which connects to their inner eardrum. They live in marshes, grasslands and forests. Most poisonous lizards are among the largest in the world and they don't have many natural enemies/predators.

Answer: A crocodile

Crocodiles are some of the fiercest hunters in the world. They are sometimes called "living fossils" as their bodies have not changed much in millions of years. A mother crocodile usually lays her eggs on the land, and later carries the hatchlings in her mouth and releases them in water.

Another amazing fact about them is that in extreme conditions, crocodiles can go about two years without food.

Answer: Tortoise

It was a tortoise. One difference between a tortoise and turtle lies in the fact that a turtle cannot hide inside its shell and it is also much flatter than a tortoise's. Tortoises, along with turtles and terrapins are also called chelonians. They like to stay sufficiently warm and sit in the sun in cold places.

Though a tortoise walks very slowly, it can live up to 150 years. "Slow and steady wins the race", remember?

Answer: A snake

A snake does not have any limbs. They kill their prey using poison or by wrapping themselves tightly around it. The world's most poisonous snakes belong to a family called elapids, which includes cobras, taipans, mambas and sea snakes (like Belcher's sea snake).

It might amuse you to know that although most snakes have only one working lung, the constrictors use both their lungs to breathe.

Answer: New Zealand

The name tuatara has been derived from the Maori language. It literally means "peaks on the back". They are found only in New Zealand. They are unique as they have two rows of teeth in the upper jaw which overlaps one row on the lower jaw. They also have a spiny crest along their back.

Answer: Carapace

The upper shell of a turtle is called a carapace. The carapace and plastron together make the shell. Like snakes, turtles too shed their skin, but in small pieces and not at once.

Turtles vary immensely in size and weight. It is funny that the size of a bog turtle is about 4 inches, while the leatherback turtle can weigh as much as 1500 pounds!