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.
Southern Cross University has successfully made the first-ever release of captively reared mountain frogs in a remote area of Gondwana Rainforest near the NSW/Qld border, in Australia.
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2025
0
19
The tongues of chameleons and salamanders might not seem like the inspiration for tomorrow's engineering breakthroughs, but inside the Deban Laboratory at the University of South Florida, biology and engineering are colliding ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 8, 2025
0
234
An international research team has developed an innovative model that explains how elongated amphibious animals—such as eels—coordinate movement both in water and on land. Their study is published in the Proceedings of the ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 5, 2025
0
32
More than 350 frogs made the leap back into the Southern California wilderness this month, part of an effort from the Birch Aquarium and other regional partners to reintroduce an endangered species to its home waters.
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2025
0
24
Albino cane toads created using gene-editing technology reveal that albino animals face competitive disadvantages going far beyond their vulnerability to predators, according to new research published in Proceedings of the ...
Evolution
Aug 27, 2025
0
37
The scientist traipses to a pond wearing rubber boots but he doesn't enter the water. Instead, Brad Hollingsworth squats next to its swampy edge and retrieves a recording device the size of a deck of cards. He then opens ...
Ecology
Aug 27, 2025
0
22
In 1935, a species known as the giant neotropical toad (Rhinella marina) was introduced to Australia.
Plants & Animals
Aug 22, 2025
0
140
Researchers may have a new tool in the fight to protect neotropical frogs from extinction, thanks to climate data.
Plants & Animals
Aug 14, 2025
0
24
A first database has been compiled of the frog and freshwater fish species on hundreds of Australian islands.
Plants & Animals
Aug 14, 2025
0
25
Sixty years ago, residents of a canal-crossed borough in Mexico City could pluck axolotls—the large salamander reminiscent of a tiny dragon—out of the water with their hands because they were so plentiful. Now it's almost ...
Ecology
Aug 12, 2025
0
44
