Amphibians

What are Amphibians?

Amphibians are a class of vertebrates that includes frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts. Amphibians typically have a life cycle that involves both aquatic and terrestrial stages, with adaptations such as permeable skin that allow them to live in moist environments.

Metamorphosis Stages

Metamorphosis in amphibians, like frogs, happens in four main stages:

1. Egg: The life cycle starts when an adult frog lays eggs in water. Each egg has a tiny developing frog inside, protected by a jelly-like coating.
2. Tadpole: After hatching, the young frog is called a tadpole. It has gills to breathe underwater and a tail to swim but no legs yet. At this stage, it mostly eats plants and algae.
3. Tadpole with Legs: As the tadpole grows, it starts to develop back legs, then front legs. Its body also begins to change so it can live on land. The gills start to disappear, and lungs begin to form.
4. Adult Frog: In the final stage, the tail shortens and eventually disappears, and the lungs fully develop. The tadpole becomes an adult frog, ready to live on land and in water and eat insects.

This process of changing from egg to adult is called metamorphosis, allowing amphibians to adapt to both water and land environments as they grow.