Class Amphibia: General Characteristics and Classification (NEET Biology)

By Pavan Chaturvedi

Welcome to Chaubey Biology Hub, your premier destination for high-quality, NCERT-aligned medical entrance preparation. We take pride in delivering content that doesn't just mirror textbooks but decodes them. This guide on Class Amphibia: General Characteristics and Classification (NEET Biology) is meticulously crafted to meet the rigorous standards of the NTA NEET-UG syllabus, focusing exclusively on the core concepts that matter most."

Before diving into the Class Amphibia: General Characteristics and Classification (NEET Biology) ensure you have gone through comprehensive guide on Class Pisces: Detailed Comparison of Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes for NEET Biology ensure you have gone through

Table of Contents 

• 📌 Amphibia  : Introduction 
• 📌 General characters of Amphibia
• 📌 Examples  of Amphibia
• 📌  Comparison table between Pisces and Amphibia 
• 📌 MCQs For the NEET

Amphibia  : Introduction 

• The term "Amphibia" comes from Greek: Amphi = both, Bios= life. It reflects their unique ability to live in both water and land. Amphibians evolved ∼370 million years ago in the Devonian Period from lobe-finned fish like Eusthenopteron They were the first vertebrates to invade land - a major evolutionary step.
• Class Amphibia comes under Subphylum Vertebrata, Phylum Chordata. They are placed between Pisces and Reptilia, acting as a connecting link Between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates.
• Amphibian are class of  vertebrates that are cold blooded and found in both water and land.

​🦁 Zoology Shortcut:  Master all Animal Phyla from Porifera to Chordata with our easy-to-remember comparison tables:

🦁[Animal Kingdom: High-Yield Module]

General Characters of Amphibia:

• They can live in both aquatic and terrestrial habitat.
• Most of them have two pairs of limb.
• Body is divided into head and trunk. Some of the animals have tail.
• Their skin in moist due to presence of glands but have no any scale in body.
• Eyes👀 have eyelids and  also Nictating membrane while animal are in water.
• A tympanum represent the internal  ear👂.
• Cloaca is common chamber in which alimentary canal, Reproductive tract and urinary duct are opened.
• Heart has three chambers  Two auricle and one ventricle.
• Saxes are separate. Fertilization is external . Development is indirect . They are oviparous.

📌 Video Highlights (Topics Covered)

• 00:00 - Class Amphibia Introduction
• 01:06 - Dual Life (Water & Land)
• 02:14 - Limbs & Exception: Ichthyophis
• 03:02 - Body Division: Head, Trunk & Tail
• 05:27 - Skin Characteristics
• 05:59 - Hearing: The Tympanum
• 07:15 - 3-Chambered Heart Structure
• 07:44 - Respiration: Lungs, Skin & Gills
• 09:22 - What is Cloaca? (Important)
• 10:56 - Reproduction & Fertilization
• 11:23 - Indirect Development & Larval Stage

Examples of Amphibia :

 Bufo

• It is commonly called as Toad. Its skin is dry with small warts.
• It has large bulging eyes  👁️covered by nictitating membrane .
• Bufo has broad head with wide mouth with no teeth.
• It has short fore limb 🦵 with four digit and hind limb With five digits.

Bufo ( Toad)

• Frog has two small nostril above the mouth.
• It has mucus glands to make skin moist.

💡NEET IMPORTANT POINT.

📝   Respiration in Frog 

1. ​Larva (Tadpole)  by Gills.​( Branchial respiration)

2. Adul Frog by  Lungs aur Skin. (Cutaneous respiration).

• It has rounded tubercle on dorsal skin and sub articular tubercle on their  finger  and toes.
• It can change its color during breeding season. 
• Male frog has  sound box and copon their fingers during breeding season. Sexual dimorphism is present .
• Bufotoxin is toxic substance released by toad to get protection from predator.

💡 Quick Navigation: Back to [NEET Biology Full Course Hub] for more Unit-wise Study Material."

Rana

• It is commonly called as frog. Its skin is smooth and moist with presence of mucus. 
• It has large bulging  eyes  👁️ with nictitating membrane.
• Frog  has head with wide mouth with no teeth.
• It has short fore limb with four digits  🦵 and hind limb with five digits.
• Frog has two small nostril above the mouth. 
• It has parotid glands behind the ear.
• Frog never drinks water but absorb from the skin.

Rana ( Frog)

• It can change its  body color to get protection from enemy. It is called camouflage.
• Male frog  has copulatory pads pad on first finger of hind limb. Sexual dimorphism is present .
• Male frog also has vocal sac to produce some to attract the female during  copulation.

Feature	NCERT Key Point (NEET)
Body	Divided into Head & Trunk (Tail in some like Salamander)
Ear	Represented by Tympanum
Eyes	Have Eyelids
Development	Indirect (Tadpole stage present)
Fertilization	External (Paani mein hota hai)

Hyla

• It is commonly called as tree  frog. It is an arboreal and spent most of the time on tree.  
• It's body is small and slender. It has round  adhesive disc on finger and toes.
• Its skin in smooth on back or front whereas dry skin in present in under side.
• Web is well developed in between the finger but less developed between the toes.

Hyla ( Tree frog)

• Male Hyla produce sound during breeding season to attract the female.
• Hyla breed in water body like pond river etc and female lay egg in clumps.
• Eggs are developed into tadpole larva which are further developed into adult after metamorphosis.
• Some species of Hyla are poisonous .

💡 Related study to understand the  Protochordata : Urochordata and Cephalochordata NCERT Biology Notes, Classification & MCQs for NEET

Salamandra

• It is commonly called as Salamander.   
• It's body is covered by moist skin due to secretion of mucus. Some Salamander can respire by the moist skin.
• Salamander has four limb but in some  limb is reduced.
• They lack epidermal scale , Claws and external ear.

Salamandra 

• They do not produce any sound due to lack of vocal sacs but make communication with touch and chemicals.
• Salamander has power of regeneration and it can regrow of its lost limb.
• Larva of salamander is carnivorous and possess developed external gills.
• Salamander has close relationship with  frog 🐸 and lizard 🦎Salamander is nocturnal.

 Comparison table between Fish & Amphibia 

Feature	Fish (Pisces)	Amphibians
Habitat	Aquatic only	Dual (Land & Water)
Respiration	Gills	Gills, Lungs & Skin
Heart	2-Chambered	3-Chambered
Fertilization	External	Mostly External

 Ichthyophis 

• It is a limbless Amphibian. It has slender body ,  Vestigial and short  tail.
• Ichthyophis has small  eyes 👀 with compact skull with bony vertebrae.

• Transverse groove, slime glands and squirt glands are present.
• It's larva is aquatic with three pairs of external gills.
• Mouth is sub terminally located.

To understand   the  detail  information about the  Class Reptilia: General Characteristics, Examples, and NEET Biology Notes

 read my next detailed guide:

🎯 NEET MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

🔥 100% CHALLENGE

"Questions yahi se aayega... taiyari jeet ki!"

1. Given below are two statements and select the correct option

Statement I : Amphibians are tetrapods.

Statement Il : Most of the Amphibian has two pairs of limb.

A. Statement l is true and statement ll is false.

B. Statement l is false and statement ll is true.

C. Both statement I and II is true.

D. Both statement I and II is false.

Answer: C  

2. Which of the following statement is correct for the Amphibia.

A. Tail is completely absent in all members.

B. Tympanum represent the External ear.

C. They can live in both aquatic and terrestrial habitat.

D. All of the above 

Answer: C 

3. Consider the following statement and select the correct code:

1. Most of the  body of Amphibian is divided into head and trunk.

2. Tail is present in some of Amphibian.

A. Only 1 

B. Only 2 

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C 

4. The Amphibian skin is 

A. Moist with scale

B. Moist without the scale

C. Dry with the scale

D. Dry without the scale

Answer:B 

5. Which of the following statement is not correct for the Amphibia.

A. The eyes are with eyelids 

B. Tympanum represent the internal ear.

C.Skin is Without scales.

D. Tail is present in all the members.

Answer: D 

6. Which of the following statement is not correct for the Amphibia.

A. Fertilization is external.

B. Saxes are seprate.

C. They are oviparous 

D. Development is direct.

Answer: D 

7. In Amphibia, Respiration take place by 

A. Lung

B. Skin

C. Gill

D. All of the above.

Answer: D 

8. Given below are two statements and select the correct option

Statement I : Amphibian has a common chamber called cloaca in which Digestive tract, reproductive  tract and urinary tract are opened.

Statement Il : Cloaca opens at exterior to body.

A. Statement l is true and statement ll is false.

B. Statement l is false and statement ll is true.

C. Both statement I and II is true.

D. Both statement I and II is false.

Answer: C  

9. Consider the following feature of Amphibian and select the correct code:

1. Three chambered heart

2. Cold blooded 

3. Skin with scale

4. Eye without eyelids 

A. 1 and 2       B. 1 and 3

C. 2 and 4      D. 2 and 3

Answers: A 

10. Match the list

A. Bufo            1.Frog 

B. Rana           2. Toad

C. Hyla            3. Salamander

D.Salamadra   4. Tree frog                                       

     A      B       C      D

A.  2       4       1       3

B.  2       1       4       3

C.  4       1       3       2

D.  4       3       1       2

Answer : B 

11. Ichthyophis is

A. Limbless Amphibian 

B. Flying Amphibian

C. Limbless frog

D. Flying frog

Answer: A

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