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They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders (and thus amphibians), and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo. Amphiuma exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than ...
The skin also has numerous ring-shaped folds, or annuli, that partially encircle the body, giving them a segmented appearance. Like some other living amphibians, the skin contains glands that secrete a toxin to deter predators. [15] The skin secretions of Siphonops paulensis have been shown to have hemolytic properties. [26]
The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi), but this is dwarfed by prehistoric temnospondyls such as Mastodonsaurus which could reach up to 6 m (20 ft) in length. [7] The study of amphibians is called batrachology, while the study of both reptiles and amphibians is called herpetology.
The skin, at least in the more advanced forms probably had a water-tight epidermal horny overlay, similar to the one seen in today's reptiles, though they lacked horny claws. [ 32 ] [ 33 ] In chroniosuchians and some seymouriamorphs , like Discosauriscus , dermal scales are found in post-metamorphic specimens, indicating they may have had a ...
Some, if not all, lissamphibians share the following characteristics. Some of these apply to the soft body parts, hence do not appear in fossils. However, the skeletal characteristics also appear in several types of Palaeozoic amphibians: [6] Double or paired occipital condyles; Two types of skin glands (mucous and granular)
B. dendrobatidis also contains a variety of proteolytic enzymes and esterases that help it digest amphibian cells and use amphibian skin as a nutrient source. [10] Once the zoospore reaches its host, it forms a cyst underneath the surface of the skin, and initiates the reproductive portion of its life cycle.
The skin on the palms and the soles of the feet is the thickest skin on the body at 4 mm thick. The speed and quality of wound healing in skin is promoted by estrogen. [5] [6] [7] Fur is dense hair. [8] Primarily, fur augments the insulation the skin provides but can also serve as a secondary sexual characteristic or as camouflage.