| Amphibians include toads, frogs, salamanders,
caecilians and various fossil forms since Devonian times. In
structure and function, amphibians represent the group between
fish and reptiles. They were the first chordates ever to move
to land. Legs, lungs, nostrils connecting to the mouth cavity
and sense organs that can function in both land and water are
only some of the features that enabled amphibians to move to
land. Though they can spend most of their lives on land, amphibians
must return to the waters to breed.
About 200 amphibian species have been described in India.
This makes up 4.4 per cent of all the species found in the
world today. Amphibians in India belong to nine families and
35 genera. 58 per cent of the species that occur here are
found nowhere else in the world.
Click here to download
the list of amphibians in Asia.
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