🐸 Amphibians: Living a Double Life
What Are Amphibians?
The word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, meaning "living a double life." Amphibians are vertebrates (animals with backbones) that typically split their lives between water and land. They are cold-blooded (ectothermic), meaning their body temperature depends on their environment.
Key features include: moist, permeable skin that aids in gas exchange, a three-chambered heart, and usually a biphasic life cycle — an aquatic larval stage followed by a terrestrial adult stage.
🔬 Classification of Amphibians
Amphibians belong to the Class Amphibia and are divided into three major orders:
🐸 Order Anura
Frogs & Toads
- ✔ Compact body
- ✔ Strong hind legs for jumping
- ✔ No tail in adults
- ✔ ~7,000+ species
🦎 Order Caudata
Salamanders & Newts
- ✔ Elongated body
- ✔ Four limbs of similar size
- ✔ Tail retained in adults
- ✔ ~700+ species
🪱 Order Gymnophiona
Caecilians
- ✔ Limbless, worm-like body
- ✔ Burrow through soil
- ✔ Reduced eyes
- ✔ ~200+ species