 The eggs of amphibians are typically laid in water and hatch into free @-@ living larvae that complete their development in water and later transform into either aquatic or terrestrial adults . In many species of frog and in most lungless salamanders ( Plethodontidae ) , direct development takes place , the larvae growing within the eggs and emerging as miniature adults . Many caecilians and some other amphibians lay their eggs on land , and the newly hatched larvae wriggle or are transported to water bodies . Some caecilians , the alpine salamander ( Salamandra atra ) and some of the African live @-@ bearing toads ( Nectophrynoides spp . ) are viviparous . Their larvae feed on glandular secretions and develop within the female 's oviduct , often for long periods . Other amphibians , but not caecilians , are ovoviviparous . The eggs are retained in or on the parent 's body , but the larvae subsist on the yolks of their eggs and receive no nourishment from the adult . The larvae emerge at varying stages of their growth , either before or after metamorphosis , according to their species . The toad genus Nectophrynoides exhibits all of these developmental patterns among its dozen or so members . 
