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The Daily Insight

What amphibians have no lungs?

Author

James Craig

Updated on March 13, 2026

An unassuming little frog from Borneo has been found to have an exceedingly rare anatomical feature – introducing Barbourula kalimantanensis, the only known frog with no lungs. The Bornean flat-headed frog gets all of its oxygen through its skin.

Then, do some amphibians have no lungs?

Most amphibians breathe through lungs and their skin. Tadpoles and some aquatic amphibians have gills like fish that they use to breathe. There are a few amphibians that do not have lungs and only breathe through their skin.

Secondly, do frogs have lungs? The frog has three respiratory surfaces on its body that it uses to exchange gas with the surroundings: the skin, in the lungs and on the lining of the mouth. A frog may also breathe much like a human, by taking air in through their nostrils and down into their lungs.

Considering this, do some frogs not have lungs?

The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo. The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis, apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin. He and his colleagues had no idea this frog would be lungless.

Do salamanders have lungs?

Salamanders are amphibians that look like a cross between a frog and a lizard. Salamanders are very diverse; some have four legs; some have two. Also, some have lungs, some have gills, and some have neither — they breathe through their skin.

Related Question Answers

What animals have no lungs?

One species of salamander lacks lungs, so it breathes by absorbing oxygen through its skin and the roof of its mouth. The diving bell spider is able to breathe oxygen underwater by keeping air bubbles attached to its body with tiny, hydrophobic hairs.

What land animal has no lungs?

salminicola is the only known animal on Earth that does not breathe. If you spent your entire life infecting the dense muscle tissues of fish and underwater worms, like H. salminicola does, you probably wouldn't have much opportunity to turn oxygen into energy, either.

Do newts have lungs?

Newts have lizard-shaped bodies with four legs and long tails. Most have smooth and moist skin, though some species, such as rough-skinned newts have, as one might expect, rough, grainy skin. Most species have well-developed lungs, while some retain gills and are completely aquatic.

Why are the lungs of amphibians not as efficient as human lungs?

Frogs have a moist, permeable skin, which can transfer gasses such as carbon dioxide and oxygen. Humans have dry skin that is impermeable to gas exchange, so almost all gas exchange takes place in the lungs. This means human lungs must be more efficient than frog lungs.

Do reptiles have lungs or gills?

Reptiles are turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles. Unlike amphibians, reptiles breathe only through their lungs and have dry, scaly skin that prevents them from drying out.

Do mammals have lungs?

All mammals have lungs that are the main organs for breathing. Lung capacity has evolved to support the animal's activities. During inhalation, the lungs expand with air, and oxygen diffuses across the lung's surface and enters the bloodstream.

Do lizards have lungs?

All reptiles breathe through their lungs. Lizards do not have a diaphragm; instead, their chest muscles move the chest wall, which inflates and deflates the lungs. A few lizard species use their throat muscles to “gulp†air in a process called buccal pumping (a process also used by amphibians).

Can all amphibians breathe underwater?

As larvae (tadpoles), all species of amphibian can breathe underwater. As they go through metamorphosis, though, some species of amphibian lose their ability to breathe entirely underwater. Many frogs and toads can even breathe through thick mud during hibernation.

Do fish have lungs?

Like us, fish also need to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide in order to survive. But instead of lungs, they use gills. Gills are branching organs located on the side of fish heads that have many, many small blood vessels called capillaries.

Why frog lungs are quite tiny?

Humans breathe exclusively through their lungs, but frogs use their lungs for only part of their respiration. Frog lungs have thinner walls and are almost like balloons. The lungs of frogs and humans have alveoli, tiny vessels that make the actual gas exchange.

Why do tadpoles have gills instead of lungs?

Tadpoles need to breathe air just like us, but use gills instead of lungs. So there should be gill slits on a tadpole as long as it isn't close to turning into a frog as which point it develops lungs, just like us. Answer 2: The gills are on the side of the throat, behind the ears.

Which of the following body part is not present in amphibians?

Amphibians do not have scales. Their skin is moist.

Do all amphibians go through metamorphosis?

Metamorphosis is iodothyronine-induced and an ancestral feature of all chordates. Animals that goes through metamorphosis are called metamorphoses. Very few vertebrates undergo metamorphosis, but all the amphibians do to some extent. Figure 1.

Does frog breathe through gills?

Frogs, like salamanders, newts and toads, are amphibians. Most amphibians begin their life cycles as water-dwelling animals, complete with gills for breathing underwater. Frogs are no exception to this process and are able to breathe through their lungs once they reach adulthood.

Do the fishes have lungs for respiration?

Hint: Respiration is a mechanism in which animals exchange gasses between their body cells and the atmosphere. The circulatory system then carries oxygen to all body tissues and eventually to the cells. Thus the fishes breathe through the gills. The lungs are absent in fishes.

Do turtles have lungs?

Turtles have lungs to breathe but they do it a little differently than us. Their shells don't allow their ribcages to expand and contract. Instead of a diaphragm, they have muscles lining the inside of their shells to help push air in and out.

Do sharks have lungs?

Sharks don't have lungs, but they do have to breathe oxygen to survive. As water passes over the gills, small capillaries allow oxygen to enter the bloodstream.

Do turtles have gills?

Just like other reptiles, sea turtles have lungs. They have a slightly different structure than mammalian lungs, but work just as well when it comes to exchanging gases (oxygen and carbondioxide). The lungs are located right under the carapace and the vertebral column.

How does a crow breathe?

Birds can breathe through the mouth or the nostrils (nares). Air entering these openings (during inspiration) passes through the pharynx & then into the trachea (or windpipe). The trachea is generally as long as the neck.

Do snakes have gills?

Eels are part of the fish family and have gills for breathing. Sea snakes do not have gills but lungs instead and need to go to the surface for air. Sea Kraits are one of the few sea snakes that go to land to lay their eggs while most others, like the Olive sea snake will give birth in the water.

Which animals can breathe both through skin and lungs?

When this oxygen rich water reaches to gills the vessels take the oxygen from the water. So, among these three animals, earthworms and frogs can respire through skin but only frogs can respire through lung and skin both. So, the correct option will be frog.

How do amphibians breathe underwater?

Answer: amphibians breathe under water through Gills and their skin.

Can reptiles breathe underwater?

Bubbles of air on the snouts of some anole lizards in Costa Rica (one shown) allow the reptiles to breathe underwater for long stretches, a new study finds.

Do Axolotls have lungs?

Unlike other salamanders, axolotls are neotenic, meaning they keep juvenile characteristics into adulthood. The axolotl remains aquatic (like larvae) their entire life. Though it develops functional lungs, it uses its fancy, feathery gills to breathe underwater.

Do skinks have gills?

But most, like the arboreal salamander and the California slender salamander, don't have lungs or gills as adults. Commonly called lungless salamanders, they breathe through their skin and the thin membranes in the mouth and throat. Newts usually have dry, warty skin, and salamanders have smooth, slick skin.

Do newts need to breathe air?

Newt larvae develop feathery gills and, unlike frogs, they grow their front legs before their back legs. At ten weeks old they can breathe air and become known as 'efts'. By the end of the summer, most efts will have left the pond to find terrestrial dens of their own.

Is a newt a reptile?

Newts are semi-aquatic amphibians. They look a bit like a combination of a frog and a lizard. Like frogs, they have smooth, moist skin. As adults, they have long tails like lizards.

Is a toad an amphibian?

Like frogs, toads are amphibians. They differ from most frogs because they have dry skin, warts, crests behind the eyes, and parotoid glands. The parotoid glands produce a poisonous secretion that helps the toad defend itself from predators.

Is a newt a salamander?

While not all salamanders are newts, all newts are salamanders!

Is a salamander an amphibian?

Identification. All salamanders belong to the amphibian order Caudata, from the Latin word for "tailed." Newts and mudpuppies are also types of salamanders. But lizards are reptiles, whereas salamanders are amphibians like frogs and toads. Lizards have scales and claws; salamanders do not.

What are the differences between the orders of amphibians?

The three living orders of amphibians vary greatly in size and structure. The presence of a long tail and two pairs of limbs of about equal size distinguishes newts and salamanders (order Caudata) from other amphibians, although members of the eel-like family Sirenidae have no hind limbs.

What is a group of Newts called?

You did find a lot. As far as I'm aware there is no collective noun for Newts, although some use a "knot" as they do for toads. Pauline Watling 11y.