Amphibians

What is an amphibian?

How are they adapted for life on land?

Main Groups

What is an amphibian?

Vertebrate

Lives in water as larvae, on land as adult

Breathes with lungs as adults

Moist skin with mucus glands

Lacks scales and claws

Form and function - feeding

Filter feeders and herbivores as tadpoles

Carnivores as adults

Long, sticky tongues

Respiration

In larvae, gas exchange through skin and gills

Lungs replace gills as adults, but some will continue through skin

Some salamanders don’t have lungs at all

Circulation and excretion

3 chambered heart

Double looped system

Filter waste in kidneys

Cloaca for excretion and reproduction

Reproduction

Eggs without shells

Females lay eggs in water and males fertilize externally

Eggs develop into larvae called tadpoles

Most abandon eggs but some will incubate

Movement and response

Larvae move like fish

Adults are 4 limbed

Jumping legs

Brain is basic like fish

Have developed eyes and eardrums

Groups

Salamanders

Frogs and toads

Caecilians - legless burrowers

Ecology

Primary prey because they lack scales, fur, or feathers

Have camouflage or toxins

Decreasing populations