Aquatic and Terrestrial Animals Example

The aquatic and terrestrial animals They are that they can live both in water and on land. Due to the way of life, structure and development, aquatic and terrestrial animals encompass many types of living beings, this makes us divide them into two categories:

• Semi-aquatic animals. They are those that spend most of the time on land and a lesser part in water. An example is the polar bear or the crocodile.
• The semi-terrestrial aquatic. They are those who spend most of the time in the water and a lesser part on land. An example is the fiddler crab.

Within aquatic and terrestrial animals we can highlight the amphibians, which are vertebrate animals that in their larval stage are completely aquatic. However, when they mature they undergo a metamorphosis and develop lung respiration that allows them to lead a semi-terrestrial life. Some amphibians remain completely aquatic and others become almost completely terrestrial. Some examples of amphibians are salamanders and frogs.

Characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial animals:

Habitat. Its habitat requires water, either fresh or salty, and the type of water depends on the area, animal and way of life, thus we have:

• Lakes
• Lagoons
• Seas
• Rivers 

Feeding. The feeding of this type of animals has the different types of feeding:

• Carnivores
• Herbivores
• Insectivores
• Omnivores

Carnivores. These include seals, walruses and sea lions, which only consume fish for food, and crocodiles or alligators that consume aquatic and terrestrial animals.

Herbivores. Among these we can find some beaver snails or hippos.

Insectivores. These are mainly frogs, toads and some salamanders that consume spiders, sancudos, flies and bees that alight on the water.

Omnivores. Omnivorous aquatic and terrestrial animals are polar bears, gray bears or turtles.

Aquatic and terrestrial animals: Crocodiles

Characteristics:

• They are vertebrate animals, you large dimensions, reaching the two meters of lake.
• They are quadruped and can move well on water using their tail as a rudder and thruster.
• They are highly resistant animals, have scales and tend to spend a lot of time under the sun's rays.
• They live in water and also on land and their reproduction is sexual and oviparous.
• They feed for long periods as their digestion lasts a long time, and their food maintains it for a long time due to their slow metabolism.

Aquatic and terrestrial animals: The platypus

• It is a semi-aquatic mammal that inhabits rivers, lakes and streams in Australia and Tasmania.
• They can measure between 40 and 50 cm in length and weigh approximately between 1 and 2 kg.
• It is an oviparous animal; that is, its young develop in eggs that it lays outside.
• It is poisonous; it strikes with its paws and releases a poison from these when it feels threatened.
• It feeds on insects, mollusks, fish and crustaceans; their feeding occurs in the aquatic environment. They capture their prey underwater and hold them inside their mouths.
• It has a beak with a sensory capacity that allows it to detect its prey.

25 examples of aquatic and terrestrial animals:

1. The nutria or rodent nutria (Myocastor coypus).
2. The American beaverCanadian beaver).
3. The European beaverCastor fiber).
4. The deer of the marshes or deer of the marshes (Blastocerus dichotomus).
5. The fishing catPrionailurus viverrinus).
6. The polar bear or white bear (Ursus maritimus).
7. The Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome).
8. The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri).
9. The king penguinAptenodytes patagonicus).
10. The webbed tenrec (Limnogale mergulus).
11. The common seal or spotted seal (Phoca vitulina).
12. The hooded sealCystophora cristata).
13. The water cuica (Chironectes minimus).
14. The bearded sealErignathus barbatus).
15. Crabeater sealLobodon carcinophagus).
16. The fringed sealHistriophoca fasciata).
17. The leopard sealHydrurga leptonyx).
18. The nutriao shrew (giant water shrew)Potamogale velox).
19. The smooth otterLutrogale perspicillata).
20. The sea otterEnhydra lutris).
21. The semi-aquatic tree spider (Plectrohyla pachyderma).
22. The muskrat or muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus).
23. The striped box turtleCuora trifasciata).
24. The thick-tailed possum (Lutreolina crassicaudata).
25. The hippopotamids (Hippopotamidae).

Learn more about:

• Examples of aquatic animals
• Examples of land animals