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 the
natural world look like
their parents when they
are born. Some do not.
One good example of this
is a toad or frog.
Australias Native Amphibians
Frogs 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 undersides of shady leaves
Safe Hiding Place
During non-breeding
times and during droughts
Some 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 like
their parents when they
are born include:
• Flies
• Ladybugs
• Kangaroos and
wallabies
Joeys
Kangaroos, wallabies
spend the first 6 months
of their lives developing
from an embryo into an
infant.
They start their lives
looking very different
from their parents.