Vedaniti, Lear UNE Online Get 7 days FREE Tria - All LIVE Classes, Introduction to Amphibia The word ‘amphibian’ means “two lives” because all amphibians spend at least some part of life in the water, and another part of their lives on land. Amphibians are the name for a large group of animals, which are made of frogs, toads. salamanders that can be found on every continent exeept for Antarctica, They are vertebrates, which means they have backbones. and just like reptiles, they are cold-blooded. Unlike reptiles, amphibians do not have scaly skin, Instead, their skin is usually smooth and moist Water Is the place where amphibians usually lay their eggs. Their eggs are protected by jelly-like substances. Classification of Amphibian Living members of amphibians are grouped under three orders. Order 1. Gymnophiona *Limbless blind, elongated and worm-like +The tail is short or absent + Limb- girdle is absent + Example Gaeeilians Order 2. Urodela. it is Divided into Five Suborders i. Cryptobranchoidea + Most primitive, permanently aquatic + Adult without eyelid + External fertilization occurs + Example- GryptobranchusVedaniti, Lear UNE Online fi, Ambystomoidea + Living om land + Adult with eyelid + Internal fertilization Fxample- Am ti, Salamandridae + Opisthocoelous Vertebrates are present *Tecth are found on the roof palate +Internal fertilization. mple- Salamander jv, Provider + Living as aquatic animals + Without eyelids and lings *Gartilaginous skull + Example ~ Proteus u— Meanies + Aquatic representing permanent larvae + Without eyelids + Horny jaws + Example Meantes Order 3. AnuraVedaniti, Lear UNE Online + Amphibian without tail + Adult without gills + Internal fertilization + Example~ Bufo Scientific Classification Kingdom ~ Animalia Phylum - Ghordata Glade Batrachomorpha Glass Amphibia Image will be uploaded soon Characteristies of class Amphibia General Characters + Amphibians are those animals that can live in the land as well as on water: + Amphibians are dual-mode of life + Amphibians ave the first vertebrates who made the transition from aquatic to the terrestrial mode of life. Habit and habitat + Amphibians occur in freshwater and moist water. *There are no marine forms. + Some frogs live on trees. Example- Hyla (tree frog). TemperatureVedaniti, Lear UNE Online +I is (poikilothermal) and most forms hibernate in winter. + Some of them aestivate in the dry sum Body Form + Their body varies from broad to narrow, long to short and cylindrical ‘It is divided into four parts which include head, neck. trunk. and tail +The neck is absent in some of the amphibians. Appendages + There are two pairs of pentadactyl limbs. cach with 4-5 pure digits. +In some amphibians limbs are absent (Apoda). + Hindlimbs are larger than four limbs present in frogs and toads for leaping. + These are near the same size as in salamander and newts. * Digits are without claws, nails or hoofs. and often have webs. Skin +t is smooth and moist and rich in multicellular mucus and is poisonous glands. *Itis highly vascular and is respiratory in most species +Seales are mostly absent ( except Apoda). EndoskeletonVedaniti, Lear UNE Online +I is largely bony. + Shull is flat and cacodylic i. has two occipital condyles. * Notochord does not persist. +The first vertebra is specialized to provide some movement to the head. Digestive System +The mouth is large and armed with teeth in the upper or both jaws. ‘Teeth are acrodont. + Amphibtans (frogs and toads) are the first vertebrates to have a true tongue. +A true tongue is a soft mucus coated and attached at the front end in frogs and toads. *The alimentary canal leads into the cloaca. Respiratory System Respiration takes pla by + Langs(Pulmonary respiration) + Living of buccopharyngeal cavity + Shin ( Cutaneous respiration) Gills ( Branchial respiration) Circulatory SystemVedaniti, Lear UNE Online +The heart is 3- Chambered with two auricles and one ventricle. «This is an advancement over the 2-chambered fish heart. *The left and right auricles receive blood from the lungs and rest of the body respectively. +The ventricle pumps out mixed blood. + Sims venous and truncus arteriosus are present. +The renal portal system is well developed. + RBC cells are biconvex, oval, and nucleated. Granial Nerves and Sense Organs +There are 10 pairs of eranial nerves. *There is no external ear +In addition to the internal ear, a single auditory ossicle is present with the middle ear “Tiympanum covers the middle ear. + Lateral line sense organs are present in larva and in aquatie forms. Reproductive System *Gonoduets lead to colada, + Sexes are separate from sexual dimorphism. + Males lack a copulatory organ. Fertilization and DevelopmentVedaniti, Lear UNE Online + Fertilization is mostly external (It is internal in salamander). + They are oviparous. + Life history often includes an aquatic larva(tadpole). + Amphibians have evolved from lug breathing. lobe-finned, bony fishes. + Their paired fins had a fleshy lobe that gives rise to limbs. This ancestral is presently represented by living fossil Latimeria. Get 7 days eee FREE Trial!