I was always under the impression that amphibians could breath both in water and in air. It appears that I may have been incorrect for all of my life.
I looked up amphibian on Wikipedia and it says that “Amphibian is derived from the Ancient Greek term amphíbios which means both kinds of life, amphi meaning “both” and bio meaning life. The term was initially used for all kinds of combined natures. Eventually it was used to refer to animals that live both in the water and on land.” It also states that as part of the amphibian metamorphosis “The gills are replaced by other respiratory organs, i.e., lungs.”
Nothing actually mentions that adult amphibians can breath under water although it appears that their gills are replaced by lungs. I suppose this means that adult amphibians can only breath in air and juvenile amphibians can only breath under water. Is this correct?
Yes, generally amphibians will give birth in the water and a metamorphosis will occur amongst their young. They lose the gills and gain lungs. But I frogs and toads can breathe through their skin, which allows them to breathe underwater and also buried in soil. Though they cannot do this indefinitely, I’m not sure exactly how long they can do this for.
Frogs in the temperate zone often hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds. While their metabolism is very slow at this time, they can survive without access to air for many months.
If the water is well-aerated (as in mountain streams) or if the frog is inactive it can probably survive underwater nearly indefinitely.
