Tetra-four

pods- foot
"Four-footed Animals”

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Greek tetrpodesa, correspondent to Latin quadruped,
"four-footed"
Tetrapods are vertebrate animals which are
characterized by having four limbs.
Amphibians, reptiles , mammals and birds, all are tetra
pods.
The ancestors of snakes, glass lizards and other limbless
amphibians and sauropsids are tetra pods.

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The earliest tetra-pods evolved from the lobe-finned
fishes in the Devonian.
They are now a dominant part of the terrestrial fauna,
representing all known larger land animals.
 Some groups have even returned to an aquatic existence,
including the largest animal known, the blue whale

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These are the amphibians (amphi – both).
They represent an attempt by animals to colonize
land from water.
Accordingly, you will find that respiration by gills is
being supported by moist skin and not too efficient
lung system.
Amphibian, animal with moist, hairless skin through
which water can pass in and out.

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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.”
Name of the class indicates double mode of life

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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 5,000 species of
amphibians, all of which are members of
one of three main groups:
 Frogs and Toads,
 Salamanders,
 Caecilians
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Frogs and toads are the most abundant of all
amphibians, numbering more than 4,000 species
Frogs have smooth skin and long limbs.
Toads, in contrast, have warty skin and short
limbs.

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There are about 400 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.
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 Introduction Class Amphibians…
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

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Moist, glandular skin that lacks the keratinized scales
of reptiles.
 Complex life cycles (adults, eggs, and larvae that
metamorphose into juveniles).
Non-amniotic eggs (they lack the amniotic
membrane that surrounds the embryo).
Amphibian eggs do not have a shell instead they are
surrounded by several gelatinous layers.
Gills at the larval stage and lungs at the adult stage.
 In many amphibians, the skin is also important in
gas exchange.
 Amphibians are cold-blooded animals
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 Classification of living Amphibians-
Lissamphibian
Classification was proposed by G. Kingsley
noble (1924)
He proposed 3 extinct and 3 living orders of
amphibians
Earlier classification before Kingsley extinct
group was placed in a single subclass
Stegocephalia and living group in subclass
Lissamphibia

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The class Amphibia is comprised of three orders which
include:
A. Order Anura (Frogs and Toads).
B. Order Urodela (Newts and Salamanders)
C. Order Gymnophiona (Caecilians),

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Frogs and Toads

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 (Gr. an, without, oura, tail)
The name of, Anura, refers to characteristic,
absence of tails in adults.
Although all have a tailed larval stage during
embryonic or larval development, only genus
Ascaphus contains tail like structure at adult
stage

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The anurans are the largest group of living amphibians,
comprising about 3,000 species.
This order is made of the most common amphibians we
come across in our environment.
These include the frogs and toads.
Frogs and toads are specialized for jumping, as
suggested by the alternative order name, Salientia,
which means leaping.

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 Lack true tails in the adult form.
 Hind legs are longer than front limbs; and by this
they are well adapted for hopping, jumping and
swimming.
 Live in aquatic environment, although some are well
adapted to drier habitats.
 Larval forms are called tadpoles lacking true teeth
are usually herbivorous, and develop hind limbs
before front limbs (which is the opposite of Urodela
larvae).
 Larvae also lack external gills, having opercular
chambers that allow water to flow over internal gills,
before exiting through a spiracle.
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Frogs and toads differ; toads have drier skin that is
warty (which enables adaption to drier habitats) in
comparison to the smooth skin of frogs.
Frogs also have longer and well pronounced
webbed feet (that facilitate movement in water)
than toads and are often in ornear water.
 Frogs range in size, the smallest measuring about
1 inch (2.5 centimeters) and the largest (the West
African Goliath frog) measuring more than 1 foot
(about 30 centimeters).

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 General characteristics :-
To a large extent, toads are the ones we see hopping
around our surroundings especially during the rains.
They are more tolerant to dry conditions than frogs,
which are often in water or not too far from a water
source.
 Frogs and toads live mainly on a diet of insects and
other invertebrates.
The largest frogs and toads also eat small mammals,
birds, fish, and other amphibians

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 Morphology of Anurans
Body divisible in to head and trunk
Skin rough in toad and smooth in frog
Head is more or less triangular, blunt snout
Mouth is large and ventral to snout
Two nostrils on each side of dorsal side

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 Morphology of Anurans…
Round and prominent eye located on each side of
the head; protected by immovable upper eyelid and
movable lower eyelid; semitransparent, thin,
membranous nictitaing membrane
Below the eye stretched skin is called tympanic
membrane

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 Morphology of Anurans…
 Forelimb is short and consists of upper arm or brachium,
forearm or antibrachium and a hand
 Hand divisible in wrist (carpus), the palm (manus) and digits
or fingers
 Digits are short, tapering, four in number and directed
forward

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 Morphology of Anurans…
 Hind limbs are much larger, consist of a thigh or femur, a sank or
crus and a foot
 Foot divisible in to ankle (tarsus), the instep (pes) or middle portion
and the digits or toes
 Digits are five in number, long and directed forward and united by
thin fold of skin called webs
 Cloacal aperture is located at posterior end of the trunk
 Male with vocal sac on the vocal sac on ventral surface of the
buccal cavity, in addition to thumb pads

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 Internal anatomy anurans
 Mouth with two toothless
jaw-upper and lower-
feeding part
 Mouth connected with
baccal cavity
 Buccal cavity connected
with pharynx which leads
to narrow, short tube
esophagus which opens in
to sac like stomach
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 Internal anatomy of anuran -frog
 A large fleshy tongue on the
floor, behind the tongue a
slit like structure called
glottis
 Glottis communicate the
mouth cavity with the lungs
 Stomach store food and mix
with digestive enzymes and
begin digestion
 Anterior part called cardiac
stomach and posterior
narrow pyloric stomach
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 Internal anatomy of anuran -frog
 Pyloric valve made up of
circular muscle located
between stomach and
intestine-regulate food
flow
 Small intestine is the
principle part for digestion
and absorption of food
 First part of the intestine is
called duodenum and rest
is long, slender and coiled
ileum
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 Internal anatomy of anuran -frog
 Wide tube posterior to the
small intestine is rectum or
large intestine
 Rectum opens posteriorly in
cloacal chamber which opens
exterior by cloacal aperture
 Pancreas is large, creamy
white irregular gland secretes
pancreatic juice enter in to
duodenum

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 Internal anatomy of anuran -frog
 Liver is large, reddish brown,
bilobed structure produce
bile and stored in gall bladder
in which drained in to
duodenum
 Frog is a carnivorus, food
captured by free end of the
sticky tongue and pass to rest
of the part for further
digestion and utilization

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Figure 25.12 American toad, Bufo americanus (family
Bufonidae). This principally nocturnal yet familiar
amphibian feeds on large numbers of insect pests and on
snails and earthworms.
The rough skin contains numerous glands that produce a
surprisingly poisonous milky fluid, providing excellent
protection from a variety of potential predators.

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Figure 25.11 Two common North American frogs. A, Bullfrog, Rana
catesbeiana, largest American frog and mainstay of the frog-leg
epicurean market (family Ranidae).
B, Green tree frog, Hyla cinerea, a common inhabitant of swamps of
the southeastern United States (family Hylidae). Note adhesive pads
on the feet.

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 Members of this order (Urodela) are amphibians that
have visible tail and they include the newts and
salamanders.
A long true tail hence the name "Urodela" meaning
"visible tail."
 The adults are shaped like eels
 Lack a tympanum (external ear drum)
 They have small and underdeveloped legs adapted to
walking rather than jumping or hopping
Some are aquatic, some are intermitted and some are
terrestrial
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 Urodela
comprises approximately 553 species of salamanders.
They range in size from approximately 10 centimeters
to the largest of all amphibians that is the giant
salamander of Japan, which grows to more than 1.5
meters.
Salamanders occur in almost all northern temperate
regions of the world, and they are abundant and
diverse in North America

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 Urodela
 Skeleton mostly bony,
 Limbs usually four (quadrupedal) in two pairs with
associated shoulder/hip girdle
 Forelimbs and hind limbs of approximately equal size.
 although, some forms have a single pair of limbs and others
no limbs; webbed feet often present
 In some aquatic and burrowing forms, limbs are rudimentary
or missing.
 no true nails; forelimb usually with four digits
but sometimes five and sometimes fewer and five in hind
limb without claws
Can Regenerate limbs and other damaged body parts

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 Urodela
Heart with a sinus venosus, two atria, one ventricle, a
conus arteriosus;
double circulation through the heart in which
pulmonary arteries and veins supply lungs (when
present) and return oxygenated blood to heart; skin
abundantly supplied with blood vessels

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 Urodela
 Skin smooth, moist and glandular;
 integument modified for cutaneous respiration
 pigment cells (chromatophores) common and of
considerable variety;
 granular glands associated with secretion of defensive
compounds
 Respiration by skin and in some forms by gills and/or
lungs;
 presence of gills and lungs varies among species and by
developmental stage of some species; forms with aquatic
larvae lose gills at metamorphosis in frogs;
 many salamanders retain gills and an aquatic existence
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 Urodela
kidneys; urea main nitrogenous waste
Ear with tympanic membrane (eardrum) and stapes
(columella) for transmitting vibrations to inner ear
For vision in air, cornea rather than lens is principal
refractive surface for bending light;
eyelids and lachrymal glands protect and wash eyes
Mouth usually large with small teeth in upper or both
jaws
paired internal nostrils open into a nasal cavity lined
with olfactory epithelium at anterior part of mouth
cavity and enable breathing in lung-breathing forms
Ten pairs of cranial nerves

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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
Lizard like amphibians with tail in larval and adult stages
Body slender, anteriorly blunt snout and limbs are short
Skin lacks scale, moist and smooth
Some species skin contain powerful poison, Tetrodotoxin
Various color patterns, stripes, bars, spots

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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
 Glandular, water permeable skin produce
mucus, also serves as respiratory membrane
 Periodic shedding of skin is controlled by
pituitary and thyroid hormone
 Granular glands on upper surface, head and
tail produce repellent or toxic substances

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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
 Opportunistic predator, protrudable tongue used
for prey capture
 Prey is grasped by the small teeth in upper and
lower jaw followed by two cusps crown
 Food flows from mouth to esophagus to stomach in
which digestion is started
 Partially digested food moves to small intestine
where enzymatic digestion starts with the help of
pancreatic and liver secretion
 Nutrient absorbed in small intestine and the wastes
moves to large intestine and released out via cloaca
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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
 Respiration is through gills, lungs, skin, membranes of
mouth and throat
 Larval salamander use external feathery gill
 Most species lost external gill during metamorphosis
but necturus retain throughout life
 Lung less salamanders use their skin, membranous
mouth for respiration
 Metabolic wastes are removed by kidney, aquatic
species release through water
 Terrestrial species urea stored in urinary bladder and
excreted through cloaca

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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
 Circulatory system as that of frog, but lungless
salamanders there is no septum in atrium
 Muscular columns in the ventricle makes
compartment that prevent the free mixing of blood
 Nervous system includes CNS and PNS
 Olfactory epithelium in the nasal cavity picks up air
borne and aquatic odour
 Nearby vomeronasal organ detect no volatile
chemical cues such as taste
 Flattened lens in the eye focus wide range of
distance
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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
 Opercularis system able to detect air borne sound
 Opercularis system consists of columella
(equivalent to stapes) and operculum
 Opercularis muscle connect to the pectoral girdle
 Low frequency vibration picket up by the forelimb
and transmitted to the inner ear

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 Morphology and physiology of Urodela
Example: Salamander
Reproduction: Sexes are separate Fertilization is
internal without copulatory organ via a spermatophore.
 predominantly oviparous, some ovoviviparous or
viviparous;
 Moderately yolky eggs (mesolecithal) with jellylike
membrane coverings
 Metamorphosis usually present
 Male has testis, a mullerian duct, a wolffian duct and cloaca
 Female has ovaries, oviducts, a wolffian duct and cloaca
 Chemical secretion from ventral cloacal gland attract male
 Male approach female and deposit sperm packet or
spermatophore in the water near to female
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Female take sperm pocket in to her cloaca
When the egg pass via cloaca will be fertilized
Fertilized egg expelled from body and hatch externally
and further development will be continued
Some salamanders exercise parental care of eggs, which
includes rotating eggs and protecting them from fungal
infections and predation by various arthropods and other
salamanders

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 Figure 17
Mud puppies (unusual type of salamander)

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Figure 25.8
Long tail salamander, Eurycea longicauda, a common
plethodontid salamander.

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Figure 25.6: Female dusky salamander (Desmognathus sp.) attending
eggs. Some salamanders exercise parental care of eggs, which
includes rotating eggs and protecting them from fungal infections and
predation by various arthropods and other salamanders

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Members of the order have the following
characteristics:
 The order Gymnophiona (jim'no-fy'o-na) (Gr. gymnos,
naked, opineos, of a snake)
Lack legs the name apoda (dig by ramming its bony
head through the soft dirt).
Worm-like in shape and Mistaken for a reptile.
The untrained eye may mistake this amphibian for a
snake (reptile) or earthworm.
Caecilians possess a long, slender body, small dermal
scales in the skin ofMMAU.
some, many vertebrae, long ribs, no
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limbs, and a terminal anus.
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Eyes are small, and most species are blind as
adults.
They burrow in moist soil in tropical habitats of
Africa and South America, feeding on soil
invertebrates such as worms and insects.
Some caecilians live in moist soil that is rich in
decayed plant matter.
 They also live in leaf litter and sometimes even in
the lower parts of plants.
Other caecilians live in water all or most of the time.
The burrowing movements of land-dwelling
caecilians turn soil and thus keep it in good condition
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 Caecilians: Order Gymnophiona
(Apoda)
Caecilians contains approximately 173 species
They occur in tropical forests of South America
(their principal home), Africa, India, and
Southeast Asia.

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Special sensory tentacles occur on the snout.
Because they are almost entirely burrowing or
aquatic, caecilians are seldom observed.
Their food consists mostly of worms and small
invertebrates, which they find underground.

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Reproduction: Fertilization is internal, and males
have a protrusible copulatory organ
 oviparous, Eggs usually are deposited in moist ground
near water.
Some species have aquatic larvae; larval development in
other species occurs within the egg.
 In some species eggs are carefully guarded during their
development in folds of the body.
Viviparity also is common in some caecilians, with
embryos obtaining nourishment by eating
the wall of the oviduct
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A, Female caecilian coiled around eggs in burrow.
B, Pink-head caecilian (Herpele multiplicata), native to
western Africa.

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