Word Origin & History. moniker 1849, said to be originally a hobo term (but attested in London underclass from 1851), of uncertain origin; perhaps from monk (monks and nuns take new names with their vows, and early 19c. British tramps referred to themselves as in the monkery).
northern American bull frog (female) Frogs, toads, and salamanders belong to a class of animals called Amphibians. They are vertebrates (back-boned animals) with smooth (moist) or warty skins. They lay unshelled eggs, usually in water, and most species have a gilled, swimming larval stage (such as a tadpole).
WHAT ARE SALAMANDERS AND NEWTS ? Salamander is a common name for the order of Caudata which includes 9 families, of which 8 are found in North America. Newt is a common name applied to certain members of a family of relatively small salamanders. Also in the order of Caudata are sirens which are aquatic salamanders, which have no hind limbs. So newts and sirens are really salamanders. Salamanders make up a mere 350 species out of the 4000 or so known species of amphibians.