Acknowledgments I am grateful for the love and support of my husband and kids who continually inspire me and good-naturedly put up with my long hours at the computer I am also grateful to my parents who taught me to love nature and kept me well supplied with books throughout my childhood Huge thanks to Matt Neff for sharing his amphibian exper tise And last but certainly not least many thanks to Victoria Selvaggio for her ongoing support and friendship and to editors Lisa Reardon and Jerome Pohlen who believed in this book and brought it to life FrankWinkler Pixabay ix
Introduction Amphibians live almost everywhere but they can be hard to find for much of the year In spring however frogs and toads fill the night air with their songs and lay masses of eggs in and around ponds and streams as do salamanders If you pro vide a habitat for them you may be able to attract amphibian visitors to your yard Amphibians are not only fascinating and beautiful they are also beneficial to humans in many ways One big benefit they provide is that they eat pests of all kinds They are also eaten by larger animals Amphibians are a vital link in the food webs of many different ecosystems There is still much to learn about many of these secretive creatures especially the caecilians which spend most of their lives underground New amphibian species are being discovered every day and scientists can now use high-tech tools such as DNA sequencing to figure out where they fit into the amphibian family tree In 2003 scientists even discovered a whole new fam ily of frogs in the mountains of southern India Only one species in this family has been identified so far This is an exciting time to be a herpetologist The last few decades however have brought new challenges Amphibian populations have shrunk dramatically and some Gary Wells Flickr xi species have become endangered or extinct Many factors are involved in this decline including diseases pollution and habitat loss Scientists and conservationists are working hard to figure out what is causing this decline and to protect endangered spe cies before it is too late In this book you’ll learn lots of fascinating facts about amphibians and create an explorer’s notebook to keep track of your findings Each chapter includes fun activities to help you learn more It can be difficult to identify amphibian species and there are too many to include them all in this book But you will learn to study them carefully and observe their differences IMPORTANT Amphibians are fragile creatures due to their sensitive skin and it is best not to pick them up If you do be very careful when handling them as some produce toxins that can make you ill Wash your hands carefully after touching any amphibian It’s fun to go looking for amphibians but always tell an adult where you are going You don’t need to go far you can prob ably find amphibians in your local park or even your backyard
