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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. However, many amphibian declines or extinctions ...
Amphibians are in decline worldwide, with 2 out of every 5 species threatened by extinction, according to a paper published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature.
The first major groups of amphibians developed in the Devonian period, around 370 million years ago, from lobe-finned fish which were similar to the modern coelacanth and lungfish. [21] These ancient lobe-finned fish had evolved multi-jointed leg-like fins with digits that enabled them to crawl along the sea bottom.
The environment and all its inhabitants rely on biodiversity to recover from extreme environmental conditions. When too much biodiversity is lost, a catastrophic event such as an earthquake, flood, or volcanic eruption could cause an ecosystem to crash, and humans would obviously suffer from that. [ 55 ]
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 93 reptile and amphibian species in the United States are threatened with extinction. [1] The IUCN has classified each of these species into one of three conservation statuses: vulnerable VU, endangered EN, and critically endangered CR.
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.
Of all evaluated amphibian species, 10% are listed as vulnerable. No subpopulations of amphibians have been evaluated by the IUCN. For a species to be assessed as vulnerable to extinction the best available evidence must meet quantitative criteria set by the IUCN designed to reflect "a high risk of extinction in the wild".
It belongs to a lineage believed to have given rise to the three living branches of amphibians - frogs, salamanders and limbless caecilians. Creature named for Kermit the Frog offers clues on ...