Showing posts with label Amphibian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amphibian. Show all posts

Salamanders

Salamander, an amphibian of the order Urodela, or Caudata. Salamanders have tails and small, weak limbs; superficially they resemble the unrelated lizards (which are reptiles), but they are easily distinguished by their lack of scales and claws, and by their moist, usually smooth skins. Salamanders are found in damp regions of the northern temperate zone and are most abundant in North America. Most are under 6 in. (15 cm) long, but the giant salamander of Japan (Megalobatrachus japonicus) may reach a length of over 5 ft (1.5 m). Most salamanders are terrestrial as adults, living near water or in wet vegetation, but some are aquatic and a few are arboreal, burrowing, or cave-dwelling. Most are nocturnal, and all avoid direct light. Salamanders are able to regenerate a lost limb or tail. They feed on small animals, such as insects, worms, and snails.
Most salamanders breed in water and are gregarious at breeding time, when there is usually a courtship display. In most species fertilization is internal. The male deposits sperm packets, which the female picks up with the cloaca; the sperm is then stored until fertilization takes place. The eggs, surrounded by gelatinous material, are usually laid in ponds or brooks, where they develop into aquatic larvae that can breathe by means of gills. A few salamanders breed on land, laying their eggs under rotting vegetation; the young pass through the gilled stage in the egg, emerging as miniature adults. Such strictly terrestrial forms are the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) and slimy salamander (P. glutinosus) of E United States and the slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) of the Pacific coast.

Most salamanders, including most that remain in an aquatic environment, go through a typical amphibian metamorphosis into air-breathing adults. Generally the adults have lungs, but in the large family of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) breathing occurs entirely through the skin and the lining of the throat. In a few salamanders growth occurs without metamorphosis, and the gilled, juvenile form is able to reproduce. This phenomenon (called neoteny) is found in the sirens (family Sirenidae) of S United States and N Mexico, in the mud puppies (family Protidae), and in the Mexican axolotl. 

Classification

There are over 200 salamander species, classified in approximately 60 genera and 8 families of the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Amphibia, order Urodela.


Amphibian


Amphibian, animal with moist, hairless skin through which water can pass in and out. Nearly all amphibians live the first part of their lives in water and the second part on land—a double life reflected in the name amphibian, which comes from the Greek words amphi, meaning “both,” and bios, meaning “life.” Amphibians were the first animals with backbones to adapt to life on land. They are the ancestors of reptiles, which in turn gave rise to mammals and birds.

Scientists recognize more than 4,000 species of amphibians, all of which are members of one of three main groups: frogs and toads, salamanders, or caecilians. Frogs and toads are the most abundant of all amphibians, numbering more than 3,500 species. Frogs have smooth skin and long limbs. Toads, in contrast, have warty skin and short limbs.

There are about 360 known species in the salamander group, which also includes newts and mud puppies. Members of this group have long, slender bodies ending in tails. Some salamanders live entirely on land, whereas others never leave the water, and still others spend some time in the water and some on land. Caecilians, with about 160 species, are the rarest of amphibians. They have no limbs and look much like earthworms. Most live underground and spend their time burrowing in the soil, but a few are aquatic.

Scientific classification: Amphibians are the only members of the class Amphibia, which contains three living orders. Salamanders, a group that includes newts and mud puppies, make up the order Caudata; frogs and toads make up the order Anura, and caecilians make up the order Gymnophiona.

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