Academic literature on the topic 'Hynobiid salamanders'

Abstract Salamanders form a monophyletic group, constituting one of the three orders of modern amphibians (Lissamphibia), together with frogs and caecilians. Salamanders comprise the second most species-rich order of amphibians (1) and are typically classified in 10 families, with ca. 68% of the species belonging to the Family Plethodontidae. thebody plan has remained relatively stable since the Jurassic (2, 3) (Fig. 1), displaying several features that in combination distinguish it from the body plan of other amphibians: presence of a tail both in larval and adult phases, two pairs of limbs of equal size (when present) set perpendicular to the body, presence of teeth on both jaws, presence of ribs on most trunk vertebrae, and absence of several skull bones (4). Here we review the phylogenetic relationships and the divergence times of salamander families. thefamilies are grouped into Ave suborders: Cryptobranchoidea (Cryptobranchidae and Hynobiidae), Sirenoidea (Sirenidae), Salamandroidea (Salamandridae, Ambystomatidae, Dicamptodontidae), Proteoidea (Proteidae), and Plethodontoidea (Plethodontidae, Rhyacotritonidae, and Amphiumidae). Despite the increasing number of studies and data addressing the phylogeny of salamander families, their relationships are di1cult to resolve. Several relationships are consistently recovered with diBerent data sets, while the positions of others, in particular the sirenids and proteids, have remained contentious.