Amphibia

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Amphibia \Am*phib"i*a\, n. pl. [See {Amphibium}.] (Zool.)
     One of the classes of vertebrates.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The Amphibia are distinguished by having usually no
           scales, by having eggs and embryos similar to those of


           fishes, and by undergoing a complete metamorphosis, the
           young having gills. There are three living orders: (1)
           The tailless, as the frogs ({Anura}); (2) The tailed
           ({Urodela}), as the salamanders, and the siren group
           ({Sirenoidea}), which retain the gills of the young
           state (hence called {Perennibranchiata}) through the
           adult state, among which are the siren, proteus, etc.;
           (3) The C[oe]cilians, or serpentlike Amphibia
           ({Ophiomorpha} or {Gymnophiona}), with minute scales
           and without limbs. The extinct Labyrinthodonts also
           belonged to this class. The term is sometimes loosely
           applied to both reptiles and amphibians collectively.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Amphibium \Am*phib"i*um\, n.; pl. L. {Amphibia}; E.
     {Amphibiums}. [NL., fr. Gr. ? (sc. ? an animal). See
     {Amphibious}.]
     An amphibian.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Amphibia
       n : frogs; toads; newts; salamanders; caecilians [syn: {class
           Amphibia}]