Salamander
by Nico C.
My animal on the cladogram is a salamander, which is a type of amphibian. An amphibian is an animal that can survive in a moist area with wet skin, like a forest or a river, lake, etc. The interesting thing is that since they have slimy skin they can still survive on dry land, but they do need water near by them. I think salamanders are a very interesting type of animal.
The salamander has many different traits. One of these traits that the salamander has evolved is having a backbone to help it survive, which is called a vertebrate. The second trait they have is called gnathostomes. They have evolved a jaw to eat easier. It helps them eat meat a lot easier. Lastly salamanders evolved four limbs to walk on land. That’s called a tetrapod. So now we know that they live on land and water.
On our cladogram the salamander is most closely related to the animals from the turtle all the way down to the Irish Elk. I know this because when I trace down the salamander’s branch, the turtle is the first animal I meet up with. The node is a tetrapod, which means it has four limbs. The cladogram really helps me with evolution.
Last updated April 7, 2007.