[D] Lissamphibia

• General Lissamphibia:

  • Living amphibians 
  • Salamanders (Urodela or Caudata), frogs (Anura or Salientia), (Gymnophiona or Apoda)caecillians 
  • Tropical to temperate regions 
  • Eggs lack shells and amniotic membrane 
  • Laid in water
  • Need to be moist because no amniotic sac
  • Fertilization can be external (in frogs) or internal (most salamanders, caecilians) 
  • Paired lungs present
  • Skin with mucus glands (moisture) and granular glands (defense)
• Anura or Salientia (Frogs):

  • Adults without tail (larva has tail)
  • Leapers: long hind legs
  • External fertilization
  • Eggs laid in water or moist areas
  • Tadpole larva scrape algae 
  • Tadpoles undergo metamorphosis into adults
  • Tympanum present, used for vocalization
• Gymnophiona or Apoda (Caecilians) 

  • Wormlike; no trace of limbs or girdles 
  • No feet 
  • Damp tropical habitats 
  • Burrowers in soft substrate 
  • Internal fertilization 
  • Young can be aquatic larvae or terrestrial
• Lissamphibia: Urodela or Caudata (Salamanders)  

  • Long bodies with paired limbs and long tail 
  • Resembles Paleozoic tetrapods
  • Skull broader, some bones fused/lost
  • No tympanum (eardrum)
  • With temporal notch
  • Fertilization mostly internal 
  • Internal fertilization: Males produce spermatophore collected by females 
• Muscular limb with well defined joints and digits; defines Tetrapods

  chiridium