Page "Amphibian" Paragraph 48

In frogs, the hind legs are larger than the fore legs, especially so in those species that principally move by jumping or swimming.

In the walkers and runners the hind limbs are not so large and the burrowers mostly have short limbs and broad bodies.

The feet have adaptations for the way of life with webbing between the toes for swimming, broad adhesive toe pads for climbing and keratinised tubercles on the hind feet for digging ( frogs usually dig backwards into the soil ).

In most salamanders, the limbs are short and more or less the same length and project at right angles from the body.

Locomotion on land is by walking and the tail often swings from side to side or is used as a prop, particularly when climbing.

In their normal gait, only one leg is advanced at a time in the manner adopted by their ancestors, the lobe-finned fish.

Some salamanders in the genus Aneides and certain Plethodontids climb trees and have long limbs, large toepads and prehensile tails.

In aquatic salamanders and in frog tadpoles, the tail has dorsal and ventral fins and is moved from side to side as a means of propulsion.

Adult frogs do not have tails and caecilians have only very short ones.