Amphibian

Amphibians Fossil range: Carboniferous – Recent
Eryops, a Carboniferous amphibian
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Amphibia Linnaeus, 1758
Subclasses and Orders
Subclass Labyrinthodontia†, or Order Temnospondyli† and Subclass Lepospondyli† Subclass Lissamphibia Order Anura Order Caudata Order Gymnophiona †: extinct

Strawberry Poison dart frog, Oophaga pumilio. Like many living amphibia, poison and warning colouration protects it.

Amphibians are a group of four-legged animals. They form the class Amphibia (Amphi- = both; bios = life). They live in shallow water and on land, and must lay their eggs in water. They have a larval stage in water, and the adult stage usually lives mostly on land.

Early amphibia, from the Carboniferous, were quite large predators with flat skulls. The amphibia which survive today are much smaller and more specialised forms. Frogs and toads (Anura), newts and salamanders (Caudata) and caecilians are all amphibians.

As amphibia grow from a larva to an adult, they change shape. This is metamorphosis. They lose their gills and tails, and grow front and hind legs. Larval frogs, toads or salamanders are called tadpoles. They then grow appendages to become the amphibian they are today

Adult females lay as many as 4000 eggs, usually in the water or in wet places. They eat other animals, especially insects. Amphibians are cold blooded, which means that their body temperature does not adapt to the weather.

In terms of species numbers, amphibians are still quite successful. They are just limited in the habitats they can live in. There are about 5,700 living species of amphibia. For comparison, there are about 4,000 mammalian species.

Examples

• Newts
• Salamander
• Caecilian
• Frog
• Toad
• Olm
• Crab-eating Frog

Taxonomy

• Class Amphibia
  • Order Anura (Frogs)
  • Order Caudata (Salamanders)
  • Order Gymnophiona (Caecilians) (somewhat resemble snakes)

Look up Amphibia in Wikispecies, a directory of species

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Amphibia