Amphibians
Examples
Hyla cinerea (bottom left), Taricha rivularis (bottom middle), Anaxyrus quercicus (bottom right)
Hyla cinerea (bottom left), Taricha rivularis (bottom middle), Anaxyrus quercicus (bottom right)
Evolutionary Milestones
Amphibians posses eight evolutionary milestones: eukaryote, tissues, bilateral symmetry, body cavity, enclosed body cavity, hollow nerve tube, backbone, and legs.
Habitat
Amphibians live in the water as a larvae and then will move to the land as an adult. Suitable land environments include tropical rain forest, temperate forests, grasslands, deserts, taiga, and tundra.
Anatomical/ Structural Features
Amphibians posses legs and a backbone. Adults have a three chambered heart. They exchange gas through skin. They have a closed circulatory system and a well developed nervous and sensory system. They have a cloaca which is a chamber they receives the digestive wastes, uinary waste, and eggs or sperm before they leave the body.
How do they acquire nutrients
Amphibians are heterotrophs. They are filter feeder or herbivores and then become carnivores in adult stage.
What do they eat
Amphibians eat variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates.
What eats them
Predators of amphibians include reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, parasites, and other amphibians. Sometimes, humans even eat frog legs.
Symmetry
Amphibians have bilateral symmetry.
Mobility
Amphibians have legs that they crawl and hop around with. As larvae, they live in water so they swim.
Reproduction
Amphibians reproduce sexually by external fertilization.
Development
Amphibians undergo metamorphosis where they first start out as an egg, then into a larva, next they become a young adult, and finally the become an adult.
Other Information
Amphibians means double life. They are ectotherms meaning that they are cold blooded.
Amphibians posses eight evolutionary milestones: eukaryote, tissues, bilateral symmetry, body cavity, enclosed body cavity, hollow nerve tube, backbone, and legs.
Habitat
Amphibians live in the water as a larvae and then will move to the land as an adult. Suitable land environments include tropical rain forest, temperate forests, grasslands, deserts, taiga, and tundra.
Anatomical/ Structural Features
Amphibians posses legs and a backbone. Adults have a three chambered heart. They exchange gas through skin. They have a closed circulatory system and a well developed nervous and sensory system. They have a cloaca which is a chamber they receives the digestive wastes, uinary waste, and eggs or sperm before they leave the body.
How do they acquire nutrients
Amphibians are heterotrophs. They are filter feeder or herbivores and then become carnivores in adult stage.
What do they eat
Amphibians eat variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates.
What eats them
Predators of amphibians include reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, parasites, and other amphibians. Sometimes, humans even eat frog legs.
Symmetry
Amphibians have bilateral symmetry.
Mobility
Amphibians have legs that they crawl and hop around with. As larvae, they live in water so they swim.
Reproduction
Amphibians reproduce sexually by external fertilization.
Development
Amphibians undergo metamorphosis where they first start out as an egg, then into a larva, next they become a young adult, and finally the become an adult.
Other Information
Amphibians means double life. They are ectotherms meaning that they are cold blooded.