Even in biology classes, teachers talk about various representatives of the fauna. Among them are the first chordate and vertebral inhabitants of our planet. These include fish and amphibians. Read about the similarities and differences between fish and frogs in the article.
Fishes
Since ancient times, these vertebrates have inhabited all kinds of water bodies. Evolution made them change, as a result of which the first amphibians came to land. Fish live almost everywhere. They are the largest superclass of primary chordate animals. In total, science knows more than twenty thousand species of these animals.
Fish are cold-blooded representatives of the fauna. They strongly depend on the ambient temperature, the speed of their vital processes varies depending on temperature conditions. In the winter season, when the water cools to zero degrees and below, the fish just go down to the bottom of the reservoir, because there is always a plus temperature.
Fish and a frog are essential components of many food chains. They not only eat other plant and animal organisms, but they themselves become food for predators. Many fish are prey for humans. Due to the fact that a huge number of these animals die as a result of fishing, some species of fish were listed in the Red Book or disappeared from the face of the Earth.
Frogs
Amphibians are the first animals to set foot on land. They can live both on land and in water. While fish live in both salt and fresh water, amphibians can only be found near rivers.
Fish and frog have a number of similarities and differences. Amphibians have pronounced limbs that allow amphibians to jump high. Their skin is bare, covered with mucus. They have well-developed vision - this helps them to notice prey from afar and subsequently catch it with a long sticky tongue. Frogs are cold-blooded animals, so the peak of their activity occurs in the warm season. Most often they can be found in wetlands, moist forests and various water bodies.
Similarities
Describing the similarities of fish and frogs, one can not help but say that they are similar not only externally, but also internally. This is manifested in the fact that the newly hatched tadpoles resemble the shape of small fish. In adulthood, their similarity is determined by the fact that the heads of these representatives of the fauna smoothly pass into the body. The frog has one single cervical vertebra, and the fish has a neck with gill covers replacing the neck.
In addition, both the fish and the frog have a mouth gap and large eyes. This is one of the most obvious similarities in their external structure. As for the sinuses and nostrils, amphibians and fish have two pairs of them. True, two of the frog’s four nostrils are in her mouth, while all the fish’s nostrils are on her head.
Fish and frog have well-developed muscles. If in amphibians this is associated with motor activity, then in fish - with swimming. The fact is that it is important for them to stay in the water and resist its flow. They have separate muscles that are responsible for the movements of the eyes, fins and other parts of their body.
Both those and other representatives of the fauna lay eggs. Moreover, fish fry and tadpoles are chordate. Both representatives of the fauna are cold-blooded, which makes them dependent on the temperature around.
Differences
As mentioned earlier, the fish and the frog have both similarities and differences. They are both external and internal.
First of all, they are hidden in the structure of the skeleton. The frog has a cervical vertebra, while the fish does not have it, and there are fewer bones in the amphibian skull. The frog's head is movably connected to the body. Her spinal cord is protected by several arcs. While fish have gills, amphibians have neither gill bones nor their lids.
The muscular skeleton also differs in these representatives of the fauna. Due to the fact that the frog not only swims in the water, but also moves on land, the muscles of its limbs are well developed. In addition, she can lower and raise her head. Amphibians can move in different directions, while the movements of the fish are monotonous and somewhat similar to snakes. The difference between frogs and fish lies in the structure of their eyes. The fact is that in fish they are flat, and in an amphibian they are convex.
The body shape of these representatives of the fauna is very different. Firstly, the body shape of the fish is streamlined, which contributes to its high speed of movement in water. The skin of aquatic inhabitants is usually covered with scales, and the skin of amphibians is bare. This is one of the many differences between amphibians and fish.