Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis ("ametaboly").
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically.
The purple frog, Indian purple frog, or pignose frog is a frog species of the genus Nasikabatrachus. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in India. Although the adult frog was formally described in October 2003, the juvenile form of the species was described earlier in 1917.
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop inside eggs that remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch.
Agalychnis callidryas, commonly known as the red-eyed tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is native to forests from Central America to north-western South America. This species is known for its bright coloration, namely its vibrant green body with blue and yellow stripes on the side. It has a white underside, brightly red and orange colored feet, and is named after its distinctive bright red eyes.
Pseudis is a genus of South American frogs in the family Hylidae. They are often common and frequently heard, but easily overlooked because of their camouflage and lifestyle, living in lakes, ponds, marshes and similar waters with extensive aquatic vegetation, often sitting at the surface among plants or on floating plants, but rapidly diving if disturbed. Whereas the adults are medium-sized frogs, their tadpoles are large; in some species the world's longest.
Nyctibatrachus is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant members of the monotypic subfamily Nyctibatrachinae. Currently, 35 species belong to Nyctibatrachus.
Limnonectes is a genus of fork-tongued frogs of about 75 known species, but new ones are still being described occasionally. They are collectively known as fanged frogs because they tend to have unusually large teeth, which are small or absent in other frogs.
The banded bullfrog is a species of frog in the narrow-mouthed frog family Microhylidae. Native to Southeast Asia, it is also known as the Asian painted frog, digging frog, Malaysian bullfrog, common Asian frog, and painted balloon frog. In the pet trade, it is sometimes called the chubby frog. Adults measure 5.4 to 7.5 cm and have a dark brown back with stripes that vary from copper-brown to salmon pink.
Dendropsophus bogerti is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to the Andes of Colombia and occurs in the Cordillera Central in Antioquia, Caldas, and Chocó Departments. The specific name bogerti honors Charles Mitchill Bogert, an American herpetologist. Soon after its description in 1970, it was relegated to synonymy of Dendropsophus carnifex, but its species status was restored in 1997.
Phyllomedusa trinitatis, known as the leaf-nesting frog, Trinidadian leaf frog, or Trinidadian monkey frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is found in Venezuela and the island of Trinidad. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Phantasmarana lutzae is a species of frog in the family Hylodidae. It is endemic to Brazil and only known from its type locality in the Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro state. It is named in honor of Bertha Lutz, a Brazilian zoologist and feminist.
Limnonectes hascheanus is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It is found in the Malay Peninsula ; its occurrence in the Andaman Islands requires confirmation. It is a small frog, males being 19–25 mm (0.75–0.98 in) and females 21–25 mm (0.83–0.98 in) snout-vent length.
Limnonectes limborgi is a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae. It is found in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; it might well occur in Northeast India and Yunnan, China. It is a small frog, males being 30–38 mm (1.2–1.5 in) and females 28–36 mm (1.1–1.4 in) snout-vent length.
Djoko Tjahjono Iskandar is an Indonesian herpetologist who studies the amphibians of Southeast Asia and Australasia. He is a professor of biosystematics and ecology at Bandung Institute of Technology in West Java, Indonesia.
Rhacophorus vampyrus is a medium-sized species of flying frogs endemic to Vietnam. It is found in Southern Vietnam, and is not known to be found in other places globally. It Is in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, and class Amphibia. Along with this, it is in the order Anura, family Rhacophoridae, and it is the only member of the genus Vampyrus. It is also known as the vampire tree frog or the vampire flying frog because of the presence of a pair of fang-like hooks in the mouth of the tadpoles. Its Vietnamese name is Ếch cây ma cà rồng.
Robert Frederick Inger was an American herpetologist. During his lifetime, he wrote numerous books and publications about herpetology. He was also the curator for amphibians and reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.
Meristogenys maryatiae, also known as Maryati's torrent frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to the state of Sabah, in the Malaysian part of Borneo. The specific name honours Prof. Datin Mohamed Maryati, entomologist from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, who helped the describers of this species during their herpetological surveys in Sabah.
