Amniotes are tetrapods (descendants of four-limbed and backboned animals) that are characterised by having an egg equipped with an amnion, an adaptation to lay eggs on land rather than in water as the anamniotes (including frogs) typically do. Amniotes include synapsids (mammals along with their extinct kin) and sauropsids (reptiles and birds), as well as their ancestors, back to amphibians. Amniote embryos, whether laid as eggs or carried by the female, are protected and aided by several extensive membranes. In eutherian mammals (such as humans), these membranes include the amniotic sac that surrounds the fetus. These embryonic membranes and the lack of a larval stage distinguish amniotes from tetrapod amphibians.