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Red Spotted Newt
Like all amphibians,
I start out life living in the water, first as an
egg, then as a larva. I look like a miniature
salamander when I am a larva, except that I have
gills on the sides of my neck so I can breathe
underwater. I like to eat frog eggs, worms, leeches,
spiders and insects. After a few months, I change
into a red eft and leave the water to live in moist
leaves, stumps or fallen trees in the forest. After
several years, I change again and become an adult,
called a red spotted newt, and go back to the water
to live. Would you like changing shape during your
life?
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Snail
Where are your eyes
and mouth? They are on your head, but not so with
me. My eyes and mouth are on my foot! I bet you
think that’s pretty odd, but it really makes a lot
of sense. My mouth is on the bottom of my foot,
because I eat algae, which grows where I crawl. On
top of my foot are my eyes. They are on stalks, sort
of like periscopes, and they help me watch for
danger. When I spot a turtle, fish or bird, I pull
my foot into my shell and hope I don’t get eaten.
Because I am a pond snail, I have a sack in my shell
that’s filled with air so I can breathe underwater.
Snails in streams use gills to breathe.
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Flatworm
Can you figure out
why I am called a flatworm? It’s pretty obvious when
you look at me. Have you ever wondered what it would
be like to have your mouth on your belly? That’s
where my mouth is. I crawl right onto my food, dead
animals, and dine. Look carefully at my head. Those
two little spots you see are my eyespots. I can’t
see with them like you see with your eyes. I use
them to detect light, which I avoid. Most animals
breathe with either gills or lungs. I, however,
breathe through my skin. You can find me where the
water is clean.
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Black-Nose Dace
Have you ever noticed
some very small fish swimming in a pond? You may
have seen me, a black-nose dace. I breathe by taking
in water through my mouth and using my gills to get
oxygen out of the water. I like to eat algae, and
bigger fish and some animals like to eat me so I
have to be ready to swim away quickly when danger
appears.
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