Amphibians are a major clade of tetrapod vertebrates (class Amphibia) encompassing anurans (frogs and toads), caudates (salamanders and newts), and gymnophionans (caecilians). They are characterized by permeable, glandular skin that plays key roles in osmoregulation, gas exchange, and secretion of bioactive peptides, making them sensitive bioindicators of environmental change. Most species exhibit biphasic life histories with aquatic, gilled larvae and terrestrial, lung-breathing adults, though direct development and paedomorphosis also occur. Amphibians occupy pivotal positions in trophic networks and evolutionary biology, representing the earliest diverging extant lineage of tetrapods and providing critical models for studies of metamorphosis, regeneration, endocrine disruption, and emerging infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis.
New James Cook University research has used highly sensitive environmental DNA (e-DNA) techniques to find two species of threatened frogs in places they've never been seen before—and find another still struggling to recover ...
Ecology
Aug 25, 2026
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Where they could once hop and amble freely, urbanization is diminishing amphibians' habitats. Yet small-scale water bodies managed by people—such as those found in the gardens of Japan's temples, shrines and schools—remain ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 19, 2026
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A new study led by researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin shows that Berlin's dragonfly populations have declined by more than half since 1963, while populations of frogs, toads and newts have fallen by more than ...
Ecology
Aug 18, 2026
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Scientists from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador officially described Pristimantis milpe, an abundant and widely distributed species that had been confused with another species for more than a century. To solve ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 13, 2026
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Scientists from Brazil and other countries have discovered a new species of frog in the flooded forests of the western Amazon. They named it Adenomera varcena. This finding significantly advances our understanding of Amazonian ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 12, 2026
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Much like an indecisive single person on a dating app, female treefrogs struggle to pick the most desirable mates when they have too many options to choose from. According to a new study published Aug. 12 in the journal iScience, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 12, 2026
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Nearly 80 years ago, a British expedition discovered the battered remains of a giant fossil on the peak of an Arctic island. Unable to take it with them, they snapped some pictures, took some bones and left the fossil to ...
Fever is one of the best-known mechanisms by which animals combat infectious diseases. Sick animals can increase their body temperature in two ways: through physiological regulation, by altering internal metabolic processes, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 10, 2026
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A tiny greenish, nocturnal frog that thrives in coffee plantations has been discovered in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, where it also faces risks from agrochemicals used in farming.
Ecology
Aug 8, 2026
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Many people are blissfully unaware that the world's frogs and amphibians are fighting their own deadly pandemic. In fact, this fungal disease—chytridiomycosis, or chytrid for short—is the worst wildlife disease on record.
Plants & Animals
Aug 5, 2026
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