Looking at Amphibians

Uses frogs, toads, and salamanders as examples in explaining the adaptation of amphibians in early life to water and in adult life to land.

Pictures various amphibian species and points out characteristics common to all. Traces development of the frog to show the life cycle of amphibians. Briefly discusses the theory that reptiles evolved from an amphibian ancestry.

The purposes of this 11-minute film are: to illustrate some ways in which amphibians differ from other animals in appearance, body structure, functions, and behavior; to show the development of a frog from conception to the adult form; to depict several ways in which amphibians are adapted to the environment; and, to illustrate the evolution of prehistoric amphibians to reptiles. The film deals with the concept that an individual organism develops in a manner which parallels an evolutionary adaptation of the species.