Hynobiidae |  |
98 species in 9 genera
Commonly Called Asian Salamanders
Paradactylodon mustersi
Photo by Max Sparreboom
(Click for family gallery)Small to medium size (with Ranodon reaching up to 200 mm) terrestrial or aquatic salamanders that are distributed in Asia, with one species entering European Russia. All species have external fertilization and aquatic larvae. Hynobiids are the sister taxon of the Cryptobranchidae, and together they are the sister taxon of all other salamanders.
Members of this assemblage are divided into two subfamilies, the Onychodactyliini (Onychodactylus) and Hynobiinae (all others). Larvae metamorphose completely into adults with eye lids and no gill slits. Onychodactylus (which also lacks lungs), Liua shihi, and a few Batrachuperus have claws or horny covers on their hands allowing them to grasp onto slippery rocks in their fast stream habitats. Externally, most species have a generalized tetrapod morphology but species of Onychodactylus, in particular, have long legs and a long tail. Vomerine teeth (located on the roof of the mouth) are useful characters in distinguishing species and genera from one another. Hynobius retardatus, as well as other species, have displayed a cannibalistic larvae morphology in which they develop wider heads and may eat salamander (and frog) larvae. There are no derived morphological features (synapomorphies) for this group, but they do share some characters.
Written by AmphibiaWebNotable Family Characteristics
- Both terrestrial and aquatic species
- Metamorphosis complete; adults lack gill slits
- Some morphological characters include: 1) septomaxillae present; 2) lacrimal present; 3) vomerine teeth not parallel to marginal teeth row; 4) ribs unicapitate; 5) eyelids present; 6)reduced or absent lungs (Onychodactylus) .
- External fertilization, mating usually aquatic
- Distribution from eastern Europe through Asia, western Asia to Japan and Korea
Cartography Credit: Zoe Yoo, UC Berkeley
Range maps sources: AmphibiaWeb, UC Berkeley, and IUCN RedListRelevant Reference
Fei, L., C.-y. Ye, and J.-p. Jiang. 2012. Colored Atlas of Chinese Amphibians and Their Distributions. Sichuan, China: Sichuan Publishing House of Science & Technology.
Subfamily Hynobiinae (86 species)
Genus Batrachuperus (7 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Batrachuperus (Batrachuperus) karlschmidti no account photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Batrachuperus) londongensis no account photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Batrachuperus) pinchonii account photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Batrachuperus) tibetanus account photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Hynobiinae) taibaiensis no account no photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Tibetuperus) daochengensis no account no photos no sound/video Batrachuperus (Tibetuperus) yenyuanensis account no photos no sound/video
Genus Hynobius (65 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Genus Liua (2 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Liua (Liua) shihi account photos no sound/video Liua (Tsinpa) tsinpaensis account no photos no sound/video
Genus Pachyhynobius (1 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Pachyhynobius shangchengensis account photos no sound/video
Genus Paradactylodon (2 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Paradactylodon (Afghanodon) mustersi account photos no sound/video Paradactylodon (Paradactylodon) persicus account photos no sound/video
Genus Pseudohynobius (6 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Pseudohynobius (Protohynobius) puxiongensis account no photos no sound/video Pseudohynobius (Pseudohynobius) flavomaculatus account no photos no sound/video Pseudohynobius (Pseudohynobius) guizhouensis no account no photos no sound/video Pseudohynobius (Pseudohynobius) jinfo account no photos no sound/video Pseudohynobius (Pseudohynobius) kuankuoshuiensis no account no photos no sound/video Pseudohynobius (Pseudohynobius) shuichengensis no account no photos no sound/video
Genus Ranodon (1 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Ranodon sibiricus account photos no sound/video
Genus Salamandrella (2 species) [subfamily Hynobiinae]
Salamandrella keyserlingii account photos no sound/video Salamandrella tridactyla no account no photos no sound/video
Subfamily Onychodactylinae (12 species)Genus Onychodactylus (12 species) [subfamily Onychodactylinae]
Onychodactylus pyrrhonotus account no photos no sound/video Onychodactylus sillanus account no photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Geomolge) fischeri account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) fuscus no account no photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) intermedius no account no photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) japonicus account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) kinneburi account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) koreanus account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) nipponoborealis no account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) tsukubaensis account photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) zhangyapingi no account no photos no sound/video Onychodactylus (Onychodactylus) zhaoermii no account no photos no sound/video
Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: https://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed:AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.