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Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Amphibians, Threatened And Endangered Species Of Amphibians, Worldwide Threats To Amphibians, Reptiles, Threatened And Endangered Reptiles

Amphibians and reptiles are collectively known by biologists as herpetofauna. At present, there are over 5,000 described amphibian species and over 6,000 reptiles. New species in both these groups are being discovered every day, particularly in remote tropical regions that are only now being explored.

Most of the herpetofauna native to the United States are found in wetlands and riparian habitat (the banks and immediate areas around waterbodies, such as streams). Biologists say that amphibians and reptiles play a crucial role in these ecosystems by controlling insects, processing dead organic matter into a form that is edible by smaller creatures, and providing an important link in the food chain.

Many herpetofauna species are under threat, primarily due to declines and degradation in their habitats in recent decades.

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Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Amphibians

Amphibians are vertebrate animals in the taxonomic class Amphibia. They represent the most ancient group of terrestrial vertebrates. The earliest amphibians are known from fossils and date from the early Devonian era, some 400 million years ago. The three groups of amphibians that have survived to the present day are salamanders, frogs (and toads), and caecilians. Salamanders belong to the orders …

Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Threatened And Endangered Species Of Amphibians

As of March 2006 there were twenty-one U.S. amphibian species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). (See Table 7.1.) The list contains eleven species of salamander and ten species of frogs and toads (including the golden coqui and the guajón, which are Puerto Rican frogs). Most of the listed species are endangered and nearly all have recovery plans in pl…

Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Worldwide Threats To Amphibians

At the end of the twentieth century, biologists uncovered growing evidence of a global decline in amphibian populations. AmphibiaWeb (http://amphibiaweb.org), a conservation organization that monitors amphibian species worldwide, reported in 2006 that more than 160 species have become extinct in recent decades and at least 2,400 other species are declining in population. Amphibian declines have be…

Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Reptiles

Reptiles belong to the class Reptilia. Although they may appear similar, reptiles differ from amphibians in that their skin is cornified—that is, made of dead cells. All reptiles obtain oxygen from the air using lungs. Most reptiles lay shelled eggs, although some species, particularly lizards and snakes, give birth to live young. Approximately 8,000 species of reptiles have been described.…

Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Threatened And Endangered Reptiles

As of March 2006 there were thirty-seven U.S. reptiles listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, as shown in Table 7.4. Most of the species (twenty-two) are threatened, while fourteen species are endangered. One species, the green sea turtle, has dual status, because it has two separate populations in the United States. With the exception of the sea turtles, many of the other imperiled rep…

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