 The origins and evolutionary relationships between the three main groups of amphibians ( gymnophionans , urodeles and anurans ) is a matter of debate . A 2005 molecular phylogeny , based on rDNA analysis , suggested that the first divergence between these three groups took place soon after they had branched from the lobe @-@ finned fish in the Devonian ( around 360 million years ago ) , and before the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea . The briefness of this period , and the speed at which radiation took place , may help to account for the relative scarcity of amphibian fossils that appear to be closely related to lissamphibians . However , more recent studies have generally found more recent ( Late Carboniferous to Permian ) age for the basalmost divergence among lissamphibians . 
