Gourt > Science > Environment > Biodiversity > Conservation > Reptiles and Amphibians (1)
Amphibians (class Amphibia) are a taxon of animals that include all tetrapods, four-legged vertebrates, that do not have amniotic eggs.(from Greek αμφις "both" and βιος "life") are ectotherms, and generally spend part of their time on land, but most do not have the adaptations to an entirely terrestrial existence found in most other modern tetrapods (amniotes). There are around 6,000 described, living species of amphibians. The study of amphibians and reptiles is known as herpetology.
History of amphibians
Amphibians developed with the characteristics of pharyngeal slits/gills, a dorsal nerve cord, a notochord, and a post-anal tail at different stages of their life. Though early tetrapods (which appeared 390 million years ago in the Devonian period) are often referred to as "amphibians", the first true amphibians (of the order Temnospondyli) appeared during the early Carboniferous period. During the late Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic periods, amphibians were extremely diverse, including many large and small forms, some newt and salamander-like, others resembling snakes or eels, and some large-snouted forms that were very like small (about 1.5 meter long) crocodiles (e.g. Archegosaurus). The drying out of the coal swamps during the latest Carboniferous and again at the end of the Early Permian diminished many of the environments of these Paleozoic amphibians, with the result that many types died out, and they were supplanted by reptiles. However both large and small amphibians still continued to flourish in rivers and lakes of the Late Permian, alongside the diverse therapsids or mammal-like reptiles that were the dominant land animals of that time. During the following, Triassic period, there were many genera with large, sometimes very flattened heads and very weak limbs; some of these, like Paracyclotosaurus, Cyclotosaurus and Mastodonsaurus were several meters in length. Apart from a few stragglers, all these large amphibians died out at the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, and the majority of Jurassic amphibians belonged to modern groups, and would look familiar today.
Throughout their history, amphibians have ranged in size from large forms, such as the above mentioned Triassic genera, the 5 foot (150cm) long Eryops of the Permian period, and the Giant Japanese and Chinese Salamanders of today, down to the tiny Brachycephalus didactylus (Brazilian Gold Frog) and Eleutherodactylus iberia (leptodactylid frog) from Cuba, with a total length of 9.6-9.8 millimeters (0.4 inches). Amphibians have mastered almost every climate on earth from the hottest deserts to the frozen arctic.
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Amphibia :: Chordata
Reptilia :: Chordata
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NYT > Environment
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Plants Database
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National Water Management Center
Direct assistance, information, and technology on water-related issues for natural resources conservation.
The Economist: The environment
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Amphibian Conservation Alliance - A non-profit organization working to conserve amphibians worldwide through a variety of research, education, and advocacy programs.
Amphibian Information Website - Searchable databases of literature references, researchers, and web sites dealing with amphibian conservation. The references database contain data only for USA.
Amphibians and Reptiles in Great Lakes Wetlands. - An overview of the threats and conservation of amphibians and reptiles in the Great Lakes Wetlands. It also has information on the value and threats of wetlands in general.
Meta Description: [ We deliver national programs tailored to respond to regional and local issues; implement Great Lakes 2000 and the Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) Respecting Great Lakes; and represent Environment Canada corporately in binational, national, regional and local partnerships., Nous sommes un ministèr... ]
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Amphibians and Reptiles in the UK - Contains information on reptile and amphibian species native to the UK, and practical tips on how to help conserve them.
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Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network - A collection of professionals and amateurs devoted to studying, monitoring and conserving amphibians and reptiles in Canada.
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