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Why can most lungless salamanders develop directly on land?
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Caudata
Tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) are widespread across much of the United States. Although they are generally black with yellow blotches, bars, spots, or even stripes, some are lighter in colour or have olive markings. Tiger salamanders belong to the mole salamander family, Ambystomatidae.
Most lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) are able to develop directly on land because they undergo direct development, a process in which embryos complete their growth entirely within the egg capsule.12
Unlike many other salamander species that must pass through an aquatic larval stage, these plethodontids hatch from their eggs as miniature, adultlike juveniles. Because they bypass the free-swimming larval phase, they do not require an aquatic environment to survive their early development. Instead, they typically lay their eggs in terrestrial sites, such as under surface objects, in rotting logs, or in underground cavities, where the female often guards them until they hatch.12