The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

s found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the

giant salamander The Cryptobranchidae are a family of fully aquatic salamanders commonly known as the giant salamanders. They include the largest living amphibians. The family is native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. They constitute one of two li ...

s (family

Cryptobranchidae The Cryptobranchidae are a family of fully aquatic salamanders commonly known as the giant salamanders. They include the largest living amphibians. The family is native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. They constitute one of two li ...

), with which they form the suborder

Cryptobranchoidea The Cryptobranchoidea are a suborder of salamanders found in Asia, European Russia, and the United States. They are known as primitive salamanders, in contrast to Salamandroidea, the advanced salamanders. It has two living subdivisions, Cryptobr ...

. About half of hynobiids currently described are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Japan. Hynobiid salamanders practice external fertilization, or

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

. And, unlike other salamander families which reproduce internally, male hynobiids focus on egg sacs rather than females during breeding. The female lays two egg sacs at a time, each containing up to 70

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. Parental care is common. A few species have very reduced lungs, or no lungs at all. Larvae can sometimes have reduced external

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s if they live in cold and very oxygen-rich water. Fossils of hynobiids are known from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

to the present in Asia and Eastern Europe, though fossils of Cryptobranchoids more closely related to hynobiids than to giant salamanders extend back to the

Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations co ...

Phylogeny

Cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...

s based on the work of Pyron and Wiens (2011) and modified using Mikko Haaramo

Classification

Currently, 81 species are known. These genera make up the Hynobiidae: Subfamily Hynobiinae * Genus ''

Afghanodon ''Paradactylodon'', the mountain salamanders or Middle Eastern stream salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Hynobiidae The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Ru ...

'' ** '' Afghanodon mustersi'' (Smith, 1940) * Genus ''

Batrachuperus ''Batrachuperus'' is a genus of salamander in the family Hynobiidae found in western China and adjacent Myanmar. Their common name is stream salamanders or mountain salamanders. Species now in ''Paradactylodon ''Paradactylodon'', the mountain ...

'' (Chinese stream salamanders) ** ''

Batrachuperus karlschmidti The Chiala mountain salamander (''Batrachuperus karlschmidti'') is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae endemic to China and known from northwestern Sichuan, northeastern Tibet, and southeastern Gansu. Its validity as a species dist ...

'' Liu, 1950 ** '' Batrachuperus londongensis'' Liu and Tian, 1978 ** '' Batrachuperus pinchonii'' (David, 1872) ** ''

Batrachuperus tibetanus The alpine stream salamander (''Batrachuperus tibetanus'') is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae endemic to central China. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat dest ...

'' Schmidt, 1925 ** '' Batrachuperus yenyuanensis'' Liu, 1950 * Genus ''

Hynobius ''Hynobius'' is a genus of salamander (Asian salamanders) in the family Hynobiidae, occurring in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Far East Russia. It contains these species: Species Species included (as of March 2021): *'' Hynobius abei'' Sat ...

'' - (Asian salamanders) **'' Hynobius abei'' Sato, 1934 **'' Hynobius abuensis'' Matsui, Okawa, Nishikawa, and Tominaga, 2019 **'' Hynobius akiensis'' Matsui, Okawa, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius amakusaensis'' Nishikawa and Matsui, 2014 **'' Hynobius amjiensis'' Gu, 1992 **'' Hynobius arisanensis'' Maki, 1922 **'' Hynobius bakan'' Matsui, Okawa, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius boulengeri'' (Thompson, 1912) **'' Hynobius chinensis'' Günther, 1889 **'' Hynobius dunni'' Tago, 1931 **'' Hynobius formosanus'' Maki, 1922 **''

Hynobius fossigenus ''Hynobius fossigenus'' is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae, and is found in some prefectures in Kantō and Chūbu districts in Japan. Like all species in the genus ''Hynobius'', it has lungs, its tail is smaller than its body ...

'' Okamiya, Sugawara, Nagano, and Poyarkov, 2018 **'' Hynobius fucus'' Lai and Lue, 2008 **'' Hynobius glacialis'' Lai and Lue, 2008 **'' Hynobius guabangshanensis'' Shen, 2004 **'' Hynobius guttatus'' Tominaga, Matsui, Tanabe, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius hidamontanus'' Matsui, 1987 **'' Hynobius hirosei'' Lantz, 1931 **'' Hynobius ikioi'' Matsui, Nishikawa, and Tominaga, 2017 **'' Hynobius iwami'' Matsui, Okawa, Nishikawa, and Tominaga, 2019 **'' Hynobius katoi'' Matsui, Kokuryo, Misawa, and Nishikawa, 2004 **''

Hynobius kimurae The Hida salamander or Hondo salamander (''Hynobius kimurae'') is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae, the Asiatic salamanders. It is Endemism, endemic to central and western Honshu, Japan. It lives in deciduous, coniferous, and mixe ...

'' Dunn, 1923 **'' Hynobius kuishiensis'' Tominaga, Matsui, Tanabe, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius leechii'' Boulenger, 1887 **'' Hynobius lichenatus'' Boulenger, 1883 **'' Hynobius maoershanensis'' Zhou, Jiang, and Jiang, 2006 **'' Hynobius mikawaensis'' Matsui, Misawa, Nishikawa, and Shimada, 2017 **'' Hynobius naevius'' (Temminck and Schlegel, 1838) **'' Hynobius nebulosus'' (Temminck and Schlegel, 1838) **'' Hynobius nigrescens'' Stejneger, 1907 **'' Hynobius okiensis'' Sato, 1940 **'' Hynobius osumiensis'' Nishikawa and Matsui, 2014 **'' Hynobius oyamai'' Tominaga, Matsui, and Nishikawa, 2019 **''

Hynobius quelpaertensis ''Hynobius quelpaertensis'', the Jeju salamander, also spelled Cheju salamander, is a species of salamander found on various islands and peninsulas off the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula, including Jindo, Geojedo, Jejudo, and Namha ...

'' Mori, 1928 **'' Hynobius retardatus'' Dunn, 1923 **'' Hynobius sematonotos'' Tominaga, Matsui, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius setoi'' Matsui, Tanabe, and Misawa, 2019 **''

Hynobius setouchi ''Hynobius'' is a genus of salamander (Asian salamanders) in the family Hynobiidae, occurring in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Far East Russia. It contains these species: Species Species included (as of March 2021): *''Hynobius abei'' Sato, ...

'' Matsui, Okawa, Tanabe, and Misawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius shinichisatoi'' Nishikawa and Matsui, 2014 **'' Hynobius sonani'' (Maki, 1922) **'' Hynobius stejnegeri'' Dunn, 1923 **'' Hynobius takedai'' Matsui and Miyazaki, 1984 **'' Hynobius tokyoensis'' Tago, 1931 **'' Hynobius tosashimizuensis'' Sugawara, Watabe, Yoshikawa, and Nagano, 2018 **'' Hynobius tsuensis'' Abé, 1922 **'' Hynobius tsurugiensis'' Tominaga, Matsui, Tanabe, and Nishikawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius turkestanicus'' Nikolskii, 1910 **'' Hynobius unisacculus'' Min, Baek, Song, Chang, and Poyarkov, 2016 **'' Hynobius utsunomiyaorum'' Matsui and Okawa, 2019 **'' Hynobius vandenburghi'' Dunn, 1923 **''

Hynobius yangi ''Hynobius yangi'', the Kori salamander, is a species of salamander endemic to southeastern South Korea. It is a lentic-breeding species similar to the Korean salamander (''H. leechi'') but is distinguished by factors including tail shape and dor ...

'' Kim, Min, and Matsui, 2003 **'' Hynobius yiwuensis'' Cai, 1985 * Genus ''

Liua ''Liua'' is a genus of salamanders (common name: Sichuan salamanders) in the family Hynobiidae, endemic to China. Species The genus contains only two species: * ''Liua shihi'' (Liu, 1950) — Wushan salamander (synonym: ''Ranodon shihi'') * ''Li ...

'' (Wushan salamanders) ** '' Liua shihi'' (Liu, 1950) ** '' Liua tsinpaensis'' (Liu and Hu, 1966) * Genus '' Pachyhynobius'' (stout salamanders) ** '' Pachyhynobius shangchengensis'' Fei, Qu, and Wu, 1983 * Genus ''

Paradactylodon ''Paradactylodon'', the mountain salamanders or Middle Eastern stream salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Hynobiidae The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Ru ...

'' (Middle Eastern stream salamanders) ** '' Paradactylodon persicus'' (Eiselt and Steiner, 1970) * Genus ''

Pseudohynobius ''Pseudohynobius'' is a genus of salamanders in the family Hynobiidae The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the giant salamanders (family ...

'' ** '' Pseudohynobius flavomaculatus'' (Hu and Fei, 1978) ** '' Pseudohynobius guizhouensis'' Li, Tian, and Gu, 2010 ** '' Pseudohynobius jinfo'' Wei, Xiong, and Zeng, 2009 ** '' Pseudohynobius kuankuoshuiensis'' Xu and Zeng, 2007 ** '' Pseudohynobius puxiongensis'' (Fei and Ye, 2000) ** '' Pseudohynobius shuichengensis'' Tian, Gu, Li, Sun, and Li, 1998 * Genus '' Ranodon'' (Semirichensk salamanders) ** '' Ranodon sibiricus'' Kessler, 1866 * Genus ''

Salamandrella ''Salamandrella'' is a genus of salamanders in the family Hynobiidae. It contains these species: *''Salamandrella keyserlingii ''Salamandrella keyserlingii'', the Siberian salamander, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. I ...

'' (Siberian salamanders) **''

Salamandrella keyserlingii ''Salamandrella keyserlingii'', the Siberian salamander, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. It lives in wet woods and riparian groves. Distribution It is found primarily in Siberia east of the Sosva River and the Urals, in ...

'' Dybowski, 1870 **'' Salamandrella tridactyla'' Nikolskii, 1905 Subfamily Onychodactylinae * Genus '' Onychodactylus'' (clawed salamanders) ** ''

Onychodactylus fischeri ''Onychodactylus fischeri'' is a lungless salamander found in Northeast Asia. It ranges through northeastern China, the Russian Far East, and the Korean Peninsula, but is only sporadically distributed within this range. Within South Korea ...

'' (Boulenger, 1886) ** '' Onychodactylus fuscus'' Yoshikawa and Matsui, 2014 ** '' Onychodactylus intermedius'' Nishikawa and Matsui, 2014 ** '' Onychodactylus japonicus'' (Houttuyn, 1782) ** '' Onychodactylus kinneburi'' Yoshikawa, Matsui, Tanabe, and Okayama, 2013 ** '' Onychodactylus koreanus'' Min, Poyarkov, and Vieites, 2012 ** '' Onychodactylus nipponoborealis'' Kuro-o, Poyarkov, and Vieites, 2012 ** '' Onychodactylus tsukubaensis'' Yoshikawa and Matsui, 2013 ** '' Onychodactylus zhangyapingi'' Che, Poyarkov, and Yan, 2012 ** '' Onychodactylus zhaoermii'' Che, Poyarkov, and Yan, 2012

References

External links

AmphibiaWeb: Hynobiidae

Tree of Life: Hynobiidaelivingunderworld.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q827251 Cryptobranchoidea Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope