Class Amphibia

Cont…
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• describe the characteristic features of the class
amphibian and the respective orders
• recognize the animals called amphibians
 List the three orders of amphibian and
distinguish them with their unique features
 Amphibians
• Most amphibians (amphi = double, bios = life) have a complex life
history that often includes aquatic and terrestrial forms.
• All amphibians have bare skin - lacking scales, feathers, or hair
that is used for exchange of water, ions and gases.
• Both water and gases pass readily through amphibian skin.
• Cutaneous respiration depends on moisture, so most frogs and
salamanders are restricted to moderately moist micro-habitats.
• However, there are several frog species that have successfully
invaded arid habitats.
• Cutaneous respiration is made more efficient by thinning of the
epidermis over the superficial cutaneous capillaries.
 General Amphibian Traits
•Tetrapods
•Skeleton mostly bone
•cold-blooded animals (they do not have a constant body
temperature
•3-5 digits on forelimb (most 4) / 5 digits on hind limb
•3 chambered heart –2 atria and 1 ventricle
•No dermal scales
•Skin moist and glandular
•Most with indirect development, some with tadpole larvae
 Characteristics of the Amphibia
• Gills at the larval/juveniles stage and lungs at the
adult stage. In many amphibians, the skin is also
important in gas exchange
• Moist, glandular skin that lacks the keratinised
scales of reptiles
• Non-amniotic eggs, so eggs lack a shell instead
surrounded by several gelatinous layers
• two pairs of pentadactyl (five digits) limbs
• no external ear.
 Cont…
• The moist, scale-less skin of amphibians absorbs water and oxygen
from the surrounding atmosphere, but that also makes them
vulnerable to Without moist conditions, their skin dries out and they
die.
• That explains why amphibians are most often found near ponds,
marshlands, swamps, and other areas where moisture is available.
• Some amphibians become inactive when conditions are
unfavourable for survival.
• This period of inactivity is called estivation when it occurs during hot,
dry weather and hibernation when it occurs in response to cold
temperatures.
• The life cycle of most amphibians begins in water when the
female lays eggs that are fertilised outside of her body.
• The eggs then hatch into larvae (known as tadpoles), that
breathe through external gills.
• The larvae grow flat tails and feed on vegetation. During a
process called metamorphosis,
Fig. Typical Anuran Lifecycle
 General Anatomy Highlights….
THE SKIN:
•Two layers - epidermis and dermis
•Specialized structures:
GLANDS(found in the epidermis)
–Mucous gland: secrete a clear, slimy, mucus
that maintains a thin film over the outside of
the skin
–Granular gland: Concentrated on the head
Produces a poison, toxic to predators
 Coloration of the Skin
• Pigment cells- chromatophores
–Melanophores: black or brown
–Iridophores: white or reflective
–Xanthophores: yellow, orange, red
•Combination of the above produce the outside
color of the skin we see
 The Skin Continued
•The skin has a major role in: Osmoregulation and
Thermoregulation
• The skin is highly vascular, has a high surface area, and is a major
source of gas exchange.
• Cutaneous respiration –oxygen is
absorbed directly into the Bloodstream
the Veins and arteries carry
it to and from the heart.
 Cont…
• Many amphibians have glands on the skin that release toxins.
There are some local newts (a kind of salamander) that
produce tetrodototoxin in sufficient strengths to kill 25,000
white mice per newt!
• The toxins released from the tropical frogs of the genus
Phyllobates are used for poison darts. Look at the slide of a
cross-section of amphibian skin under thenmicroscope!
 Ears
• Ears: Hearing -reception of sound and helps maintain balance
• Hearing is important:
1. attract a mate
2. intimidate
3. encounter call
4. Distress call
•Lateral Line System Present
 Eyes
• Laterally placed Rods and Cones
• Terrestrial and arboreal: Large Eyes
• Fossorial-relating to burrowing or
living underground / little to no eyes
• Upper eyelid is fixed
• Lower lid called nictitating membrane
(protects and moistens)
 Nasal Organs
•Nose: used in chemoreception
•Jacobson’s organ: an olfactory sense organ,
allows organism to perceive pheromones, or
chemical messages, from other animals of the
same species.
 Circulatory System and Respiration
•Three chambered heart: 2 atria, 1 ventricle
• Lungs:
–Main function –breathing
–aid in vocalization (voice box)
–Highly vascular, thin wall large surface area
•Gills: found in larvae stage
 Cutaneous respiration is made more efficient by thinning of
the epidermis over the superficial cutaneous capillaries.
Amphibian Heart Anatomy
Amphibian Respiration
Urinary and Reproductive Systems
•Kidney-regulate salt and water balance (same
structure)
Gonads-Testes and ovaries very different
• Frogs will lay eggs and ‘gelatinous’ mass
• External fertilization
• Amplexus
Digestion
 Herbivorous, Carnivorous and Omnivorous
• Not too crazy, one end is in, the other is out.
• Carnivores, have teeth
• Large intestines (new structure)
Defense behavior
• Amphibians can defend themselves by secreting a toxic
substance from their granular glands.
• As another defense, some amphibians may urinate when
captured or under stress.
• To survive during periods of drought or cold weather, some
amphibians may go into hibernation, burying their bodies in
mud.
 Classification
• The class Amphibia is comprised of three orders
1. Order Anura – frogs and toads – very derived, lost tail, modified
vertebral column for jumping
2. Order Urodela (Caudata) – salamanders & newts – elongated
body with tail; moist, smooth skin
3. Order Apoda (Gymnophiona) – caecilians, e.g. Ichthyophis,
Typhlonectes – lost limbs, look like worms, terrestrial or purely
aquatic; burrowing
Order Anura – frogs and toads
Characteristics of the Order Anura (Amphibians without tail)
• The anurans are the largest group of living amphibians,
comprising about 3,000 species.
• This order is made of the most common amphibians that we
come across in our environment.
• lack true tail in the adult stage
• hind limbs are longer than front limbs; and by this they are
well adapted for hopping, jumping and swimming
• live in aquatic environment, although some are well adapted to
drier habitats
 Cont…
• larval forms are called tadpoles, the adults lack
true teeth and are usually herbivorous, and
develop hind limbs before front limbs (which
is the opposite of Urodela larvae)
• external gills in the larvae give way to internal
gills with opercular chambers that allow water
to flow over the internal gills, before exiting
through a spiracle.
 Cont…
• Frogs and toads differ; toads have drier skin that is warty
(which enables them adapt to drier habitats) in comparison to
the smooth skin of frogs.
• To a large extent, toads are the ones we see hopping around
our surroundings especially during the rains.
• They are more tolerant to dry conditions than frogs, which are
often in water or not too far from a water source.

Fig.6: A: North American Bullfrog and

B: Typical toad in Nigeria
Order Urodela (Evident/visible tail)
The order is characterised by the following feature
• a long true tail hence the name "Urodela" meaning
"evident/visible tail" Indeed, you could mistake them for
reptiles on account of this .
• the adults are shaped like eels
• lack a tympanum(external ear drum)
• they have small and underdeveloped legs adapted to walking
rather than jumping or hopping
• legs almost equal in size
• they breathe through external gills as well as lungs.
 Cont…
• Urodeles are usually found in or near water and often reside in
moist soil under rocks or logs.
• The adults usually spend most of their time on land and have a
diet consisting of insects and worms and burrow in mud at the
bottom of marshes.
• They range in size from approximately 10 cm (4 in) to the
largest of all amphibians that is the giant salamander of Japan,
which grows to more than 1.5 m (about 5 ft).
Fig. A Mud Puppies
Necturus (unusual type of salamander)
Fig. B: The Red-Spotted Newt

A. B.
Order Apoda (Gymnophiona) e.g. Ichthyophis, Typhlonectes)
Characteristics of the Order Gymnophiona
• lack legs hence the name Apoda (dig burrow by ramming its bony
head through the soft dirt)
• worm-like in shape – body is ringed/marked by rings, so the
untrained eye may mistaken this amphibian for a snake (reptile)
or earthworm(Fig)
• usually terrestrial
• practically blind
• tail absent or greatly reduced
• no middle ear apparatus
• sensory tentacles on head
• internal fertilisation
.
 Cont…
• Members of this order are look like worms, blind and legless
amphibians that are shaped like worms.
• They burrow in moist soil in tropical habitats of Africa and
South America, feeding on soil invertebrates such as worms and
insects.
• Some caecilians live in moist soil that is rich in decayed plant
matter. Other caecilians live in water all or most of the time.

• Fig. 9: The Caecilian (wormlike amphibian with no limbs