Biodiversity of amphibians in Mexico

Amphibians represent a group with a total diversity of 376 species for Mexico which places the country as the 5th richest in terms of amphibian biodiversity. A total of 16 families are present in Mexico including representatives of the 3 orders of amphibians. Salamanders of the family Plethodontidae with 117 species is the most diverse group followed by the family Hylidae with 96 species. In general, endemism is very high, with 7 of the 16 families with more than 50% of their species being endemic to Mexico including 3 genera of frogs and 4 of salamanders endemic to the country. The distribution of species by state highlights the richness in the southern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz. The state of Oaxaca is the most diverse with a total of 140 species, the states of Chiapas with 100 species and Veracruz with 96 species occupy second and third places respectively. Currently amphibians are suffering their worst extinction crisis in their history, 43% of the species in Mexico are considered to be endangered or critically endangered.