Amphibians
Amphibians live across two worlds and are exposed in both. Most begin as aquatic larvae with gills and metamorphose into air-breathing adults, and nearly all have thin, permeable skin that…
About amphibians
Amphibians live across two worlds and are exposed in both. Most begin as aquatic larvae with gills and metamorphose into air-breathing adults, and nearly all have thin, permeable skin that they breathe and drink through — some species have no lungs at all. That permeability makes them exceptionally sensitive to pollutants, drying and disease, and it is a large part of why amphibians are declining faster than any other vertebrate group. Chytrid fungus has driven extinctions on a scale with few parallels in recorded history. They are also more varied than their reputation suggests, including frogs that carry tadpoles to water held in plants, salamanders that never grow up, and caecilians that live underground and are frequently mistaken for worms.
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Where amphibians are recorded
| Region | Climate | Species |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico & Central America | Warm and tropical with a strong rainy season. | 22 |
| Eastern North America | Four full seasons — humid summers and snowy winters. | 21 |
| Mainland Southeast Asia | Hot and tropical with a heavy monsoon. | 15 |
| Southeast Asian Jungle | Hot and steamy with monsoon downpours. | 10 |
| Indian Subcontinent | Hot, ruled by the dramatic monsoon rains. | 10 |
| Southern Africa | Warm and sunny with a summer rainy season. | 8 |
| Andes Mountains | Thin, cold mountain air — sunny days and frosty nights. | 5 |
| European Woodlands | Mild, temperate seasons with cool rain and gentle summers. | 5 |
| African Rainforest | Hot, humid and rainy almost every day, around 25°C. | 4 |
| Arabia & the Middle East | Blistering desert heat with very little rain. | 4 |
| Madagascar | Tropical and warm with distinct wet and dry seasons. | 3 |
| North American Desert | Scorching dry days and surprisingly cool nights. | 3 |
| West Africa | Hot and humid by the coast, drier toward the Sahel. | 3 |
| Amazon Rainforest | Warm and extremely humid with heavy rainfall all year round. | 2 |
| Himalayas & High Asia | Bitterly cold with thin air, snow and fierce winds. | 2 |
| China's Bamboo Forests | Cool, misty and damp in the mountain forests. | 2 |
| Pantanal & Cerrado | Hot, with a flooded wet season and a dry winter. | 2 |
| Japan & Korea | Four seasons, from the snowy north to the mild south. | 2 |
| Siberian Taiga | Brutally cold winters and short, mild summers. | 2 |
| Sahara & Deserts | Scorching days above 45°C and surprisingly freezing nights. | 1 |
| Arctic & Tundra | Long frozen winters far below 0°C and a short, cool summer. | 1 |
| North American Wilds | Four strong seasons with snowy winters and warm summers. | 1 |
| Coral Reefs & Oceans | Warm, sunlit tropical seas in the shallows; cold and dark in the deep. | 1 |
| Central Asian Steppe | Harsh extremes — baking summers and deeply frozen winters. | 1 |
| American South & Everglades | Hot, humid and subtropical with heavy summer storms. | 1 |
| Caribbean Islands | Warm, breezy and tropical all year. | 1 |
| Patagonia | Cool, dry and famously windswept. | 1 |
| New Guinea & Melanesia | Hot, humid and rainy all year. | 1 |