An ensatina salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii eschscholtzii).
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Half of all amphibian species at risk of extinction
A new study finds that more than 1,000 amphibian species poorly known to science are likely facing extinction, adding to the already identified 4,200 species the UN says are in peril.
Evidence that the world’s amphibians are in peril continues to mount.
In March, a study published in the journal Science found that 501 species of frogs and salamanders had been driven toward extinction by killer fungi known as chytrid. That’s more than twice the previous estimate. (Read “Amphibian 'apocalypse' caused by most destructive pathogen ever”.)
Then earlier this week, a United Nations committee on biodiversity announced that human impacts are threatening the existence of some one million species, including 40 percent of all the amphibian species known to science, or about 3,200 species. (Read “One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns”.)
And now a new study, published on May 6 in the journal Current Biology,
