Common Toad (Bufo bufo) found in Cambridgeshire, UK | Credit: Talita Bateman
The word ‘amphibian’ literally means ‘on both sides of life’ and the
Latin name is a reference to their life cycle, which takes place both
in water and on land. Most amphibians belong to the anuran order which
contains more than 5,000 species to date. The name Anura means
‘without a tail’ and the order is sometimes also called Salientia,
from the Latin ‘to jump’ - so unsurprisingly, this order contains all
frogs and toads…though granted most toads can barely jump!