Category: Amphibians

Amphibian

The word “amphibian” is derived from the Ancient Greek term ἀμφίβιος (amphíbios), which means “both kinds of life”, ἀμφί meaning “of both kinds” and βιος meaning “life”. Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems.

Orders

The three modern orders of amphibians are Anura (the frogs and toads), Urodela (the salamanders), and Apoda (the caecilians). The number of known amphibian species is approximately 7,000, of which nearly 90% are frogs. The smallest amphibian (and vertebrate) in the world is a frog from New Guinea (Paedophryne amauensis) with a length of just 7.7 mm (0.30 in). The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus), but this is dwarfed by the extinct 9 m (30 ft) Prionosuchus from Brazil.