7 Animals That Live On Land And Water
Amphibians are animals that live on land as well as water. They have the unique ability to breathe underwater and also live on land. However, some of them may lose that ability as they go through different stages of development. We can say these animals are dual citizenship critters (if you may) and oddly fascinating in their ways. They experience and go through a life cycle with various stages. The life cycle starts from egg-laying and continues with the growth of an animal. For breathing and respiration, an amphibian uses the lungs. But during the initial growth stage, it is done through gills. Most amphibians like to live in areas with warmer climates. They prefer to live in areas with fresh water. Some amphibians also like to live in underground areas.
Learning all about animals that live on land and water can be incredibly fun.
Which animals live both on land and water
- Mugger Crocodile
- Beavers
- Crabs
- Ducks
- Frogs
- Hippopotamus
- Penguins
Here is a fun fact! Not all animals that live on land and water animals are categorised as amphibians. Some of them are reptiles and the gharial or marsh crocodile (also known as the mugger crocodile) is an excellent example of that.
Mugger Crocodiles live in marshy areas. They are a medium size, and have a broad snout, which is what gives them the name ‘mugger’! These freshwater reptiles not only inhabit lakes and rivers but can even be found in artificial ponds. Though they barely ever go beyond 5 metres in body length, they are still extremely powerful swimmers that can just as swiftly come on land to create burrows that they nestle during winters.
Wondering which animals that live on land and water and are also cute?
Well, the beaver is surely one of them. Not part of Indian wildlife, these critters are found in abundance throughout North America except in California and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.
They love to dwell in lakes, ponds, marshes, and rivers and are exclusively herbivorous. Their typical diet includes woody stems, leaves, and aquatic plants. But the most interesting thing about them is that beavers can build dams, thus creating a habitat where diverse biological communities can be found.
Want to know which other animal lives on land and water but is not an amphibian?
Crabs are crustaceans, which means they are semi-aquatic with an exoskeleton or a shell. They have a pair of pincers on their front side along with claws, which do a pretty good job of protecting themselves against predators. They also use their ‘deadly’ weapons to search for food, which includes a wide variety of things from seaweed to shrimp. Yes, they are omnivores like us.
Though they can survive on both land and water, water is crucial to their survival. They can survive a couple of days on land without getting into water. Any longer than that and they might perish.
The list of water and land animal names that are not amphibians is expanding! Ducks, just like their cousins geese and swans, belong to the anseriformes, which are waterfowl.
You will often find ducks swimming in water with their hatchlings behind. But when it comes to feeding time, ducks will transition to land in search of foods such as plants and insects. That is not the only reason ducks go for a trip to the lands. When they are nesting on land, they go through the process of losing their feathers, which is a seasonal occurrence known as moulting.
Finally, we are back again to animals living in water and land and the names belonging to amphibians! Here is a wow-some fact about them. There are over 5000 known species of frogs on this planet. They come in all kinds of colours, and some of them even glow in the dark! How cool is that?
Native inhabitants of swamps and ponds, frogs can even be found in rainforests hanging out on trees. However, they love the water and they are not very good swimmers, they paddle along just fine due to their webbed feet. As for what they eat, there are no prizes for guessing that they love a hearty meal of spiders, insects, and small fish.
Yes, animals that live on land and water are called amphibians, but hippopotamus are not one of them. Believe it or not, they are mammals! Just like us. These large animals are semi-aquatic and are natives of the sub-Saharan region in Africa. They are the third largest land mammals on our beautiful planet.
They have nearly hairless bodies and can weigh up to 1300 kgs to 1500 kgs on average. Despite their stocky appearance, they are fast runners, capable of covering short distances at a speed of 30 km/h. Hippos are kind of nocturnal. They spend most of their day in mud or water and only come out at dusk to feed on grass.
The living things found in water and outside of it, penguins have to be the most adorable birds. These aquatic flightless birds spend about half of their lives in water, swimming in the icy cold expanse of the Antarctic Ocean. However, they are also found in New Zealand, Galapagos Island, and South Africa.
They are pretty fast swimmers, with emperor penguins reaching a speed of up to 12 km/h, using their flippers to propel themselves forward deep into the ocean. As for what they like to feed on, penguins are big fans of fish, squid, krill, and other forms of sea life, which form a regular part of their diets.
Ever wondered how penguins can swallow fish whole when they eat? That is because they have really powerful jaws which they can use to grip prey. Plus, their tongues are spiny which allows them to easily chomp down the prey they catch even while swimming.
Final Thoughts on these 7 Unique Animals
We learned that animals that live on land and water are called amphibians, we also learned that other species and biological groups of creatures can survive on both mediums. Amphibians can live both on land and water. They have specific adaptations to water and the land. When they are young, they generally breathe through their gills. They aspire for a moist atmosphere for a high chance of survival. There are a wide variety of amphibians available on the Earth, such as Frogs, Salamanders, Sirens, Hyla, and so on. Which is pretty interesting!
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