Amphibian fact file

Amphibians are the creatures which took that all-important step in evolution from swimming fish to walking land animals - without them we would never have existed.

They remain dependent on water for breeding, and are restricted to damp areas on land. Amphibians are able to breathe - and even drink - through their slimy skin, but this means they can also lose water through it very easily.

Like reptiles, they are "cold-blooded" animals, relying mainly on their environment - rather than food - for warmth. Emerging from hibernation each spring, they return to spawn in the same pond in which they started life.

As tadpoles they are strictly aquatic, but through the marvel of metamorphosis they turn into creatures which actually spend most of their lives on land - often a mile or more from the nearest pond.

Once a familiar sight, the "common" amphibians are not nearly so common now. Their ponds have been filled in, polluted, spoilt by stocking fish or simply allowed to disappear naturally through lack of management. Meanwhile, drainage and other forms of habitat destruction have made the land less inhabitable for them.

Common frog

Can you tell a frog from a toad? If you ever pick one up, a frog will tend to slither out of your hand and leap to freedom, while a toad's rougher skin and slower movements make it much easier to handle.

Even the smallest of garden ponds can be used by frogs. A large female lays a clump of spawn containing more than 2,000 eggs, but only one or two are destined to become adult frogs. The rest go to feed other wildlife, and nothing is wasted, so there's no such thing as too much frog spawn.

Common toad

The toad's warty skin contains poison to deter predators, while its tadpoles are also less tasty than those of its relatives. This gives toads a particular advantage over frogs in fish ponds or lakes. The defence is not always reliable though - like other amphibians and their tadpoles, toads fall prey to almost anything that eats meat.

Common toad
Photograph by Jayne Herbert

Toad tadpoles hatch from strings of spawn, and stay small and black, while frog tadpoles become larger and speckled brown. Adults of both species show a variety of colours, the most extreme being bright orange. The rare natterjack toad, which has a yellow stripe on its back, is not found here.

Palmate newt

This is the dominant newt in Cornwall and other areas with "acidic" geology. The male of the species is recognised while breeding by his webbed hind feet and the "thread" at the end of his tail. You might have newts in your pond without even knowing it - look into the water by torchlight on a warm spring night to see them.

Compared to the grappling antics of spawning frogs and toads, the carefully choreographed movements and fanning tails of newt courtship show much more finesse. The female goes on to wrap each tiny egg individually in a folded leaf.

Smooth (or common) newt

Not every newt with a crest is a crested newt, as breeding males of the smooth newt demonstrate. Although common elsewhere, and much less impressive than the rare great crested newt, which is not found here naturally, the smooth newt still merits excitement in Cornwall as a rarity.

Along with other newts, it spends more time in water than frogs and toads - both adults and tadpoles feasting on midge larvae and other aquatic life. On land, newts, frogs and toads are friends of the gardener, helping to control slugs, snails and flies.

Newt life cycle - Frog life cycle

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