Baby Animals Who Do NOT Look Like Their Parents

Year 2 Science Unit Good to Grow Lesson 4

Frogs and Toads

Most baby animals in thenatural world look like their parents when they are born. Some do not.One good example of this is a toad or frog.

Australias Native AmphibiansFrogs are vertebrates (animals with backbones)and are amphibians.All Amphibians:• Have a three-chambered

heart.• Breathe through their skin as

well as their lungs.• Spend part (or all) of their life

as a larval stage living in freshwater

• Can survive for a period of time living in water or on land

Shelter

Shelter in daytime during breeding periods.This may be in hollows, cracks and crevices in rocks and logs, under leaf litter, in sand or gravel, or on the under-sides of shady leaves

Safe Hiding Place

During non-breedingtimes and during droughtsSome frogs burrow into leaf litter, soil or sand; others live in cracks, crevices and hollows in trees, logs and rocks. Some use camouflage – can you find this frog?

Food

Many frogs eat insects, spiders and other small invertebrates. Large frogs may eat small lizards,mice or small birds. Some may eat other frogs.While they are young, tadpoles usually eat algae and other aquatic plant matter.

Water for Breeding• Most frog species have particular

water requirements. • Some tadpoles need shallow

water, others deep water. • Some prefer still water and some

running water. • Eggs may need to be attached to

plants. • Eggs of some species float on the

water in a kind of foam or froth. • There has to be sufficient water

present long enough for tadpoles to complete their

development.

Frogs Need a Home

Some frogs burrow into leaf litter, soil or sand. Others live in cracks, crevices and hollows in trees, logs and rocks.

Other Animals Who Do Not Look Like Their Parents at Birth

Other animals and insects who do not look liketheir parents when they are born include:• Flies• Ladybugs• Kangaroos and

wallabies

Joeys

Kangaroos, wallabiesspend the first 6 months of their lives developing from an embryo into an infant.They start their lives looking very different from their parents.