Caudata are the most threatened order of amphibians (60%), but more than 65% of Caudata in eastern Asia are threatened, with one species already extinct. The main threats include invasive species (including Batrachochytrids), habitat loss and degradation, exploitation and climate change.
In view of the high threat level to amphibians in the region, and the risk of further increase in threats due to continued habitat loss and degradation, exploitation and climate change impacts, in addition to the need for further taxonomic evaluations, in May 2024 the ASG established an Eastern Asian Salamander Task Force (EASal-TF). The goal of the TF is to understand and identify actions to address the threats to Caudata in the region, through scientific research and the implementation of science-based conservation plans, at the regional or species level. In addition, the EASal-TF will enable implementation of coordinated and collaborative actions across the region.

To maintain geographic and phylogeographic unity, for this task force eastern Asia is defined as ranging from westernmost Russia, until westernmost Iran, and as far south as Thailand (Figure 1), resulting in a total of 187 species (Table 1). This geographic subset includes all Hynobiidae (99 species), and a subset of Salamandridae (82 species), Cryptobranchidae (5 species) and Plethodontidae (1 species), following the taxonomy curated by Frost (2023). Salamandrinae from western Asia are not included as they are more closely related to European species and there are different conservation concerns. The region covered by this subset of species does however expand further west as Salamandrella occurs as far as western Russia.
The first objective of the Task Force will be to conduct a Horizon Scan to list all threats known for all species, following the threat definition of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Red List). This objective is double, the knowledge shared by the members of the EASal-TF will provide a clarification of the threats and conservation needs for the focal species, and the resulting Horizon Scan will be published in a scientific journal, with all participants of Horizon Scan listed as co-authors.

Table 1: Salamander genera listed by families within the scope of the Eastern Asia Salamander Task Force. This is a total of 187 species, but this number will fluctuate with taxonomic changes.
Family | Genus | Number of Species |
Cryptobranchidae | Andrias | 5 |
Hynobiidae | Batrachuperus | 7 |
Hynobius | 66 | |
Liua | 2 | |
Pachyhynobius | 1 | |
Paradactylodon | 2 | |
Pseudohynobius | 6 | |
Ranodon | 1 | |
Salamandrella | 2 | |
Onychodactylus | 12 | |
Plethodontidae | Karsenia | 1 |
Salamandridae | Cynops | 2 |
Echinotriton | 4 | |
Hypselotriton | 10 | |
Laotriton | 1 | |
Pachytriton | 10 | |
Paramesotriton | 15 | |
Tylototriton | 40 |
