Amphibians

The biogeographic dispersal patterns of amphibians and primary freshwater fishes are very similar. The fact that all amphibians depend on freshwater for at least the first stages of their life cycles accounts for this similarity. Amphibian eggs are laid in freshwater; larval stages, such as frog’s tadpoles, live only in freshwater. As such, most amphibians find a hospitable habitat in the Everglades region.

It is accepted that north tropical American amphibians have become naturally established in Florida. Amphibians have not dispersed to Florida via the overland route, northward through Central America and around the Gulf of Mexico, or across salt water by rafting on floating objects through the West Indies.

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