Frogs, toads, salamanders and similar creature, arc amphibians. They lack the scaly covering of reptiles, their skin being relatively naked and, in many species, moist and slimy.
The term amphibian means double life, indicating that many of these animals lead both water and a land existence. Most amphibians hatch from eggs laid in water, and live in water throughout the larval stage, breathing through gills.
The gills are eventually supplanted or supplemented by lungs, which enable the adults to live on land, although some amphibians spend all their lives in water.