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.
The microscopic flatworm (Stenostomum brevipharyngium) is one of nature's weirder creatures. Chop off its head, and it'll grow one back. Cut it in half, and it'll become two separate healthy worms. And now scientists have ...
Tadpole species that lost their lungs through evolution never re-evolve them, even when environmental change would make it advantageous—bucking long-standing assumptions about how lost traits can reemerge, according to a ...
Evolution
Oct 27, 2025
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Even within a single species, animals don't all respond in the same way to environmental changes. A new study of reed frogs in East Africa reveals that understanding these differences could be key to protecting wildlife.
Evolution
Oct 23, 2025
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22
Exotic marsh frogs from distant lands are colonizing the south-east of the Netherlands. This has been demonstrated by biology students from Leiden University faculty. Although the amphibians thrive in the little country, ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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Reptiles could overtake amphibians as the highest priority for conservation among vertebrates as threats like climate change and invasive species worsen in the future, according to a new conservation index tool developed ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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Modern toads (Bufonidae) are among the most successful amphibians on the planet, a diverse group of more than 600 species that are found on every continent except Antarctica. But just how did they conquer the world? An international ...
Scientists have discovered a new species of poisonous frog—brightly colored and measuring just a few millimeters—in the Amazon, according to a Peruvian government agency in charge of environmental conservation.
Plants & Animals
Oct 7, 2025
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A team of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has uncovered how a common color variation in frogs has helped them thrive and diversify for millions of years.
Evolution
Sep 16, 2025
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25
Frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians are disappearing as fast as—or faster than—any other class of animals around the world, succumbing to a variety of threats, like emerging infectious diseases. According to new ...
Ecology
Sep 15, 2025
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Female treefrogs prefer a mate with an impressive call, but the crowded environments give unattractive males an edge, according to a new international study led by Assistant Professor Jessie Tanner of the University of Tennessee, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2025
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