Amphibians
Introduction:
Amphibians are small, cold-blooded vertebrates that spend their life in both aquatic and terrestrial environments (amphibious). They undergo metamorphosis unlike other vertebrates. This is the biological process by which an animal undergoes additional physical developments after birth/hatching- in the case of amphibians this often accompanies a change from a fully aquatic lifestyle when young, to an amphibious one.
Amphibians were the first vertebrates to move from an aquatic environment to land, and they are thought to be the the ancestors of all reptiles, birds and mammals
Key features of amphibians:
Cold blooded (ectotherms)
Moist smooth skin with no scales
Permeable skin through which oxygen from both air and water can pass.
The majority of amphibian features result from adaptions to both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This includes other characteristics such as webbed feet, laying eggs in or near water, strong skeletons and muscles.
The amphibians can be found in central cabinet 5 with the reptiles.
Classification:
Amphibians are classed into 3 groups based on the presence or absence of tails and limbs:
Urodeles
Newts and Salamanders
Presence of tail, most have 4 limbs
Anurans
Frogs and toads
No tail, most diverse group of the amphibians, limbs increased in length
Gymnophiona
Caecilians
No legs, more specialised form for burrowing
Amphibian Orders
Below is a list of the amphibian orders - the same as the categories above.
If you want to discover more, all groups or specific animals are hyperlinked to their respective page on Encyclopaedia Britannica
We have specimens from every order of amphibian in our museum which can be found in the 5th central cabinet, alongside the reptiles.
Urodeles OR Caudata* - newts and salamanders
Anurans - frogs and toads
Gymnophiona - caecilians
*Both names are used interchangeably but some taxonomists have suggested using Urodela to describe only extant forms, while retaining Caudata as the more inclusive group including all known extant and fossil species.
Explore the different taxonomic groups of Amphibians using this interactive phylogenetic tree from OneZoom.
Learn more about OneZoom here
Highlights
The museum holds a range of skeletons, dissections, preserved specimens and life history jars of amphibians.
Some of our most interesting specimens are:
Japanese giant salamander – the largest salamander species in the world
Caecilian skeleton– an unusual specimen as these creatures are notoriously elusive
American bullfrogs – the largest frog species in the world and a troublesome invasive species worldwide
Dissection showing the nervous system in a pond frog
African clawed frog - the movement of this latter species has contributed to the spread of a chytrid fungus which causes chytridiomycosis, a disease fatal to many different amphibians and causing dramatic declines
