AMPHIBIANS

BODY STRUCTURE

• They have boney skeleton
• Large shoulder and hip to support weight.
• Interlocking vertebrae to keep backbone from sagging
• Have 4-5 digits on forelimbs

SKIN

• They have thin, wet skin with many glands
• Many use skin to breathe
• Skin has two layers 1:epidermis 2:dermis

SENSES

• Middle ear with tympanic membrane and stapes , to hear out of the water.
• Can detect odors in air using olfactory epithelium that lines nasal cavity.
• Can detect chemicals through skin.
• Have eyelids and lacrimal glands.
• Eyes have cornea as primary light refracting surface.

BREATHING ON LAND

• Has paired nostrils to take in air.
• Can breathe depending on species and stage .
• Though skin , gills , simple, ballon-like lungs.

CIRCULATORY CIRCUITS

• Have 3 chambered heart, 2 atria and 1 ventricle .
• Pulmonary circuit takes blood b/w heart and lungs,skins,or gills.
• Systemic circuit takes blood to body organs , spleen (stores blood)

EXCRETION

• Paired mesonephric kidneys to filter blood .
• Aquatic amphibians release nitrogenous waste as ammonia.
• Terrestrial amphibians excrete nitrogenous waste as urea.

HABITAT

• Always need to have water close by.
• Its rare for them to live in dry environments.
• Many of their habitats are destroyed .
• Can live in both land and water.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

• Adults are carnivores that eat invertebrates, but larva stage feeds on algae
• Complete digestive system ; pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,large intestine .
• Pancreas to secrete digestive and liver and gallbladder to secrete bile, waste leaves through the cloaca.

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