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ancient amphibians :: Article Creator

News Tagged With Amphibian

   Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona

Amphibians (class Amphibia), such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians, are ectothermic (or cold-blooded) animals that metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, to an adult air-breathing form. Though amphibians typically have four limbs, the Caecilians are notable for being limbless. Unlike other land animals (amniotes), amphibians lay eggs in water. Amphibians are superficially similar to reptiles.

Amphibians are ecological indicators, and in recent decades there has been a dramatic decline in amphibian populations around the globe. Many species are now threatened or extinct.

Amphibians evolved in the Devonian Period and were top predators in the Carboniferous and Permian Periods, but many lineages were wiped out during the Permian-Triassic extinction. One group, the metoposaurs, remained important predators during the Triassic, but as the world became drier during the Early Jurassic they died out, leaving a handful of relict temnospondyls like Koolasuchus and the modern orders of Lissamphibia.


Limbless Amphibian Added To Kaziranga's Fauna

Assam's wildlife officials said a team of herpetologists recorded the striped caecilian (Ichthyophis spp) in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve for the first time during a rapid herpetofauna survey conducted from June 14 to 17, 2024. Photo: X/@CMOfficeAssam

GUWAHATI

A limbless amphibian has been added to the fauna in the 1,307.49 sq. Km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Assam's wildlife officials said a team of herpetologists recorded the striped caecilian (Ichthyophis spp) in the tiger reserve for the first time during a rapid herpetofauna survey conducted from June 14-17.

The survey was conducted with support from Saibal Sengupta of Assam Don Bosco University; Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India; Rajeev Basumatary and Samrat Sengupta of D.R. College in eastern Assam's Golaghat; Jaydev Mandal of Madhab Choudhury College in western Assam's Barpeta; Jayaditya Purkayastha of Guwahati-based Help Earth; Jayanta Kumar Roy of Aaranyak; and Sushmita Kar of the Turtle Survival Alliance.

Reptiles and amphibians, collectively called herpetofauna, are the least studied but most vulnerable to climate change. They are indicator species for the environment and play a crucial role in controlling pests.

"Caecilians are limbless amphibians that spend most of their lives burrowed under soil. They are, therefore, the least studied of the amphibian species. As they are ancient species, their presence holds critical linkages to evolution and intercontinental speciation," a statement issued by the Kaziranga authorities said.

The diverse ecosystem of Kaziranga, comprising flood plains, wetlands, grasslands, and hill tracts on the periphery, provides an ideal habitat for herpetofauna.

The tiger reserve houses 24 species of amphibians and 74 species of reptiles. It is also home to 21 of the 29 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles found in India.

Kaziranga's Director, Sonali Ghosh, said the focus of conservation in the tiger reserve has been on the 'Big Five' — rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. Forest personnel were being trained to underscore the ecological significance of all other faunal species.

"A training and sensitisation programme was held recently to enhance the skills and knowledge of forest personnel in herpetofauna identification and conservation for ensuring better management and protection of these vital species," Dr. Ghosh said.


Scientists Name Newly Discovered Ancient Amphibian Species After Kermit The Frog

  • Scientists have discovered a new species of proto-amphibian that lived 270 million years ago.
  • They have named it the Kermitops gratus, after "The Muppet Show" character Kermit the Frog.

    • Scientists say they have discovered a new species of proto-amphibian that lived 270 million years ago — and they've named it after "The Muppets Show" character Kermit the Frog.

    Paleontologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History found the ancient amphibian ancestor's fossilized skull while searching through the museum's archives, according to a statement released by the museum.

    The skull, which measures around an inch long and has "oval-shaped eye sockets," was first discovered by Nicholas Hotton III, a paleontologist and curator at the Smithsonian, in 1984.

    He unearthed the skull while exploring the Red Beds, a fossil-rich rock outcrop in Texas.

    During that season, Hotton discovered so many fossils that "they were not able to study them all in detail," according to the statement.

    The fossil then spent nearly the next 40 years sitting in the museum's archives.

    But in 2021, Arjan Mann, a postdoctoral paleontologist at the museum and a coauthor of the study, came across the skull while looking through Hotton's collection.

    "One fossil immediately jumped out at me — this really well preserved, mostly prepared skull," Mann said in the statement.

    The researchers determined that the fossil was a temnospondyl, a type of amphibian that resembled a giant toad.

    But it had unique features — the part of the skull where the animal's eye sockets were "much shorter than its elongated snout," leading them believe it was a new genus — Kermitops gratus.

    Scientists think that the animal likely "resembled a stout salamander."

    Their findings are detailed in a study published Wednesday in the Zoological Journal.

    The lead author of the study, Calvin So, a doctoral student at George Washington University, said in the statement: "Using the name Kermit has significant implications for how we can bridge the science that is done by paleontologists in museums to the general public."

    "Because this animal is a distant relative of today's amphibians, and Kermit is a modern-day amphibian icon, it was the perfect name for it," he said.

    "Kermitops offers us clues to bridge this huge fossil gap and start to see how frogs and salamanders developed these really specialized traits," So added.





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