AMPHIBIANS

UNIQUE ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Have extremely large mouths allowing them to consume mice, birds, and snakes whole
• Eyes face opposite directions allowing them to scope out predators
• Have suction cups and webbed feet allowing them to climb trees and plants with ease
• Hind legs allow them to move quickly and jump far
• Some species have poisonous colorful skin attracting but warning predators

OBTAINING ENERGY

• Consume foods during one large meal
• Meets energy requirements for a long time
• Generally can go weeks without eating after a large meal
• Frogs, newts and salamanders can breathe through their skin, allowing them to perform cellular respiration

REPRODUCTION

• Most reproduce sexually
• Release eggs in water, initially tadpoles
• Type 3 survivorship curve (many tadpoles hatch, but very few survive the first few hours
• Surviving tadpoles metamorphosize, growing and developing limbs, giving them the ability to walk on land
• Parental care: Caecilians often burrow their eggs and wrap themselves around them, while frog and newt species may carry the eggs on their backs until they hatch

ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS

• Live in rain forests, swamps, deserts, and alpine environments (abiotic factors)
• However, extreme fluctuation in temperature can be detrimental due to dependability on temperature
• They are considered the best biological pest controllers

HOW THEY AFFECT HUMANS

• Benefit agriculture by removing pests
• Skin has substances protecting them from viruses, which could be used to cure diseases including AIDS
• Frogs being frozen solid has drawn attention of human organ transplantation scientists
• Minimize the spread of diseases (Malaria)
• Newt, salamander organ and tissue regeneration may assist future organ research

EVOLUTION AND CLASSIFICATION

• Modern amphibians originally evolved from lobe-finned fish, with similar limb structure of modern amphibians
• Prehistoric amphibians were much larger, sometimes reaching 20 feet long
• Were once the most dominant predators on Earth until reptiles evolved
• Amphibians are most closely related with reptiles and fish on the evolutionary timeline

Newt

Salamander

Caecilians

Untitled Slide