15.9: Introduction to Amphibians
- Page ID
- 44068
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Identify characteristics of amphibians
Amphibians are vertebrate tetrapods. Amphibia includes frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. The term amphibian loosely translates from the Greek as “dual life,” which is a reference to the metamorphosis that many frogs and salamanders undergo and their mixture of aquatic and terrestrial environments in their life cycle. Amphibians evolved during the Devonian period and were the earliest terrestrial tetrapods.
What You’ll Learn to Do
- Identify characteristics of amphibians
- Describe the evolutionary history of amphibians
- Describe the important difference between the life cycle of amphibians and the life cycles of other vertebrates
- Distinguish between the characteristics of Urodela, Anura, and Apoda
Learning Activities
The learning activities for this section include the following:
- Amphibians
- The Life Cycle of Amphibians
- Clades of Amphibians
- Self Check: Amphibians
Contributors and Attributions
CC licensed content, Original
- Introduction to Amphibians. Authored by: Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
CC licensed content, Shared previously
- Biology. Provided by: OpenStax CNX. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72e-48f5-b51e-f14f21b5eabd@10.8. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72...f21b5eabd@10.8