The anamniotes are an informal group of craniates comprising all fish and amphibians, which lay their eggs in aquatic environments.

The name "anamniote" is a back-formation word created by adding the prefix an- to the word amniote, which in turn refers to the amnion, an extraembryonic membrane present during the amniotes' embryonic development which serves as a biochemical barrier that shields the embryo from environmental fluctuations by regulating the oxygen, carbon dioxide and metabolic waste exchanges and secreting a cushioning fluid.

[1] This means anamniotes are almost always dependent on an aqueous (or at least very moist) environment for reproduction[2] and are thus restricted to spawning in or near water bodies.

[5][failed verification] It is a taxonomic classification just below the level of Vertebrata, though Huxley presented the Ichthyopsida as an informal unit and never ventured to forward a Linnaean rank for the group.

The term ichthyopsida means fish-face or fish-like as opposed to the Sauropsida or lizard-face animals (reptiles and birds) and the mammals.