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The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) [40] but this is a great deal smaller than the largest amphibian that ever existed—the extinct 9 m (30 ft) Prionosuchus, a crocodile-like temnospondyl dating to 270 million years ago from the middle Permian of Brazil. [41]
As of December 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists 673 critically endangered amphibian species, including 146 which are tagged as possibly extinct. [1] [2] 9.2% of all evaluated amphibian species are listed as critically endangered. No subpopulations of amphibians have been evaluated by the IUCN.
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic membrane , such as modern reptiles , birds and mammals ).
Family Megophryidae. Genus Borneophrys; Genus Brachytarsophrys - Karin Hills frog; Genus Leptobrachella; Genus Leptobrachium - Eastern spadefoot toad; Genus Leptolalax; Genus Megophrys
Additionally 1193 amphibian species (16% of those evaluated) are listed as data deficient, meaning there is insufficient information for a full assessment of conservation status. As these species typically have small distributions and/or populations, they are intrinsically likely to be threatened, according to the IUCN. [ 2 ]
All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.
Many of the causes of amphibian declines are well understood, and appear to affect other groups of organisms as well as amphibians. These causes include habitat modification and fragmentation, introduced predators or competitors, introduced species, pollution, pesticide use, or over-harvesting.
Amphibian Species of the World 6.2: An Online Reference (ASW) is a herpetology database. It lists the names of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians , which scientists first described each species and what year, and the animal's known range.