How do amphibians adapt to their environment?
Amphibians ————————————–… Amphibians were the first vertebrates to leave the water to live on land. This occurred about 360 million years ago. Over the next 125 million years, amphibians faced little competition from other vertebrates and evolved into as many as 15 major groups. With the coming of reptiles, and then birds and mammals, the amphibian groups declined to the three of today – 1) frogs and toads, 2) salamanders, and 3) caecilians (a group of worm-like creatures that live in the tropics). Amphibians had to adapt to a life on land as compared to living in the water. Without the buoyancy of the water, their legs had to adapt to not just move the body but also to support it. The gills used for breathing underwater were replaced by lungs and moist skin. The skin had to change to be able to minimize the loss of water through evaporation. Their adaptations have not been entirely successful as most amphibians must return to water to breed. Those that don’t
