Final answer:
Early amphibians adapted to living on land through means to prevent desiccation, terrestrial locomotion, a respiratory apparatus, and means to reproduce on land.
Step-by-step explanation:
Early amphibians adapted to living on land through several key adaptations:
- Means to prevent desiccation: Amphibians developed a moist, permeable skin with mucus glands that allowed them to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the environment through a process called cutaneous respiration.
- Terrestrial locomotion: Most amphibians are characterized by four well-developed limbs, which enabled them to move around on land.
- Respiratory apparatus: Amphibians replaced gills with lungs as their respiratory organ, allowing them to breathe air instead of obtaining oxygen from water.
- Means to reproduce on land: Amphibians have various reproductive strategies, but many of them lay eggs in water and their young go through a larval stage in water before transitioning to life on land.