Amphibians

Class Amphibia
Amphibians
Animals that can live on land and in water

Chinese Giant Salamander
Amphibians
First animals with four limbs

Tetrapods: vertebrates that have four
limbs.



Acanthostega
Found in 360 million year-old rocks in
Greenland
Had lungs and eight-toed legs, but also
had gills and a lateral line system.
Fish to Amphibian Transition

Adaptations
help amphibians live on land

Large shoulder and
hip bones help
support more weight.

Adaptations
Interlocking projections on the vertebrae
help keep the backbone from twisting and
sagging.
Adaptations
Mobile, muscular tongue allows
amphibians to capture and manipulate
food.
Adaptations
Development of a
middle ear help some
amphibians hear out
of water.

Adaptations
Breathe through the
skin or with the use of
gills or lungs

Adaptations
Amphibians have a three-chambered heart
Amphibians return to the water to
reproduce


Eggs do not have
shells

Strategies to keep eggs wet:
Laying eggs directly in water
Laying eggs on moist ground
Wrapping eggs in leaves
Brooding eggs in pockets on the females
back
Pygmy Marsupial Frog
Flectonotus pygmaeus

Tadpoles
Some frogs start as tadpoles
Have gills and a broad-finned tail

Amphibian Metamorphosis
Change in form and habits of an animal
It affects nearly every organ in the
tadpoles body

Tadpole into Adult Frog
Gills are reabsorbed and lungs develop
Circulatory system is reorganized to send
blood to the lungs
Tail fin is reabsorbed
Tadpole into Adult Frog
Body grows limbs and completely
reorganizes its skeleton, muscles, and
parts of the nervous system.

Digestive system is rebuilt to handle a
carnivorous diet.

Three Groups of Modern
Amphibians
Salamanders

Frogs

Caecilians
Salamanders
More than 300
species
Long body
Four walking limbs
tail

Salamanders
Walk with a side-to-side movement that
may be similar to ancient tetrapods

The largest family of salamanders do not
have lungs, so they exchange gases
through the lining of their skin and mouth.
Family Plethodontidae
Lungless salamanders
Most common kind

Salamanders
Larvae and adults are carnivores

Invertebrates Vertebrates
Insects Fish
Worms Frogs
Snails
Frogs
Over 3000 species
Largest group of living amphibians
Adult Frogs
Tailless bodies
Long, muscular hind limbs
Webbed feet
Exposed eardrums
Bulging eyes
Adult Frogs
Bodies adapted for jumping
Elongated bones in their hips, legs and feet
for increased speed and power
Hind legs have fused bones that absorb the
shock of landing
Toads
One family of frogs
Rougher, bumpier
skin
Shorter legs- not
good jumpers
Glands make toxins
that protect them from
predators also in
tropical frogs

Frogs
Live in every
environment on Earth
except at the poles
and the driest
deserts.

Caecilians
Legless, burrowing amphibians
Live in the tropics, such as South America
Caecilians
160 species
Range from 4 inches
to 5 feet
Banded bodies that
make them look like
giant earthworms

Caecilians
Are predators
Search for earthworms
and grubs
Have no arms or legs for
burrowing, so have to
move like an earthworm.
Use hydrostatic skeleton
to stiffen its body and
drive its head forward like
a battering ram.