Zoology Final a Flashcards
types of Amphibians
- frogs
- toads
- salamanders
- caecilians
What collective monophyletic group are Amphibians a part of?
tetrapods
evolutionary history of amphibians
- movement from water to land
- a non-aquatic environment is more hazardous than an aquatic environment for many life processes (reproduction)
- life originated in water, animals are mostly water in composition, and all cellular activities occur in water
- invasion of land required major modifications of almost every organ system of vertebrate body
from what group of fish did the earliest tetrapods (amphibians) most likely evolve?
lobe-finned fish similar to the modern coelacanth
What fossil fish had an arrangement of its pectoral bones that foreshadowed the forelimb of amphibians?
Eusthenopteron
After Eusthenopteron, Acanthostega appeared with what characteristics?
- forelimb bones
- 8 toes replacing the dermal fin rays
After Acanthostega, Ichthyostega appeared with what characteristics?
- 7 digits on hindlimb
- stronger vertebrae and associated muscles
- muscles raise head off ground
- stronger and more protective skeleton
- resembled aquatic forms
After Ichthyostega, Limnoscelis appeared with what characteristics?
- 5 toes on all limbs
- more adapted for land
life on land
- oxygen is more readily available on land, but need modifications for gills
- much harder to support body on land
- relatively difficult to reproduce away from water
Amphibians are a transitional class. What does this mean?
means that they are still tied to water, particularly for reproduction
respiration in amphibians
- developed lungs, from air-filled swim bladder
- no diaphragm, so air has to be forced into lungs by elevating floor of mouth (buccal breathing)
- supplement lungs with cutaneous respiration through extensive vascular nets in their skin; skin is permeable
buccal breathing
- floor of mouth is lowered
- air flows through the nares into the bottom of the mouth
- glottis opens; air flows from the lungs across the top of the mouth and out of the nares
- floor of the mouth is raised; air is pumped into the lungs; the glottis closes
skin of an amphibian
- permeable skin allows greater water loss,adults require a war or moist environment to prevent desiccation
- permeable skin also allows for absorption of chemicals through skin
reproduction in frogs
- water-permeable eggs mean adults must return to water to breed
- copulatory embrace in frogs is called amplexus eggs are fertilized externally as they are shed by female
- some species use creative ways to allow young to develop on or inside body
where do pygmy marsupial frogs carry their young?
carry developing larvae in dorsal pouch, on the back
