During the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian amphibians dominate the land. Coal deposits from the Appalachian region contain a very complete record of amphibian life during the Late Paleozoic including both adult and tadpole stages. There was great variety among amphibians during the Late Paleozoic. Amphibians from this time were slow moving with a heavy skeletal structure. At the end of the Paleozoic Pangea forms and the climate changes.
Inland seas begin to dry and the swampy lowland environments start to shrink.
As cooler and drier conditions prevail many amphibian species become extinct. Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts survive. The first reptiles appeared in the Pennsylvanian and were small lizard like creatures. As the land dried reptiles, with the ability to move away from the water, were able to exploit new environments. By Permian reptiles were becoming the dominant life form on Earth.