Introduction
Last Review/Updated: May 30, 2002
Amphibians are older than the dinosaurs. In fact, they were the first group of vertebrates to bravely set out on land some 350 million years ago. All other terrestrial vertebrates — from dinosaurs to humans — owe their existence to the amphibians.
As a group, amphibians seem relatively unimportant and uninteresting to many people. Other groups of animals seem far more intriguing. Mammals share many characteristics with us, and dramatic creatures like grizzly bears and bighorn sheep captivate our imagination. Birds are foreign creatures to us, but they draw our attention because of their showy nature and often beautiful colours.
So why are amphibians ignored? One reason is that we have never depended upon them economically like we have for mammals and birds, and even fish. Aside from exotic dishes like frogs' legs, amphibians have never been an important food source in our culture. And we don't use them to make clothing or decorations. In addition, some people find them completely repulsive. Perhaps this is because amphibians are cold-blooded and have wet skin, and so they seem primitive and alien to us. They also live in areas many people don't tend to value very highly: damp, muddy, insect-infested marshes.
However, amphibians are quite important to ecosystems. An individual frog or toad can eat thousands of insects over one summer. Amphibians, their eggs and larvae are also an important food source for many fish and birds. In addition, since amphibians are sensitive to changes in both water quality and adjacent land-use practices, their populations can serve as indicators of overall environmental quality.
Introduction | Identifying
Amphibians | Biology of Amphibians | Global
Decline
Amphibian Monitoring Project | RANA
Project
