They must be laid in water or at least in a wet, protected location. Even amphibians such as toads and salamanders, which have gotten some degree of independence from water, are forced to return to water to reproduce. Amphibian young show most clearly the dependence of this group on water. The eggs hatch not into small copies of the parents but into creatures that look more like fish. These are larvae, often called tadpoles.
Tadpoles have gills with which to breathe in water.
When first hatched, they are legless, but legs grow gradually and with other changes, the larvae soon come to look like the parents and can then emerge from the water. This change from larval to adult form is called metamorphosis . Amphibians include salamanders and newts, frogs and toads, and a group called caecilians. Caecilians live in the tropics, are shaped like worms and due to their burrowing habits are not often seen. Salamanders are the amphibians most often confused with reptiles because they have the same general body shape as lizards.