Amphibians are among the most threatened group of species in the world, suffering the greatest decline of any class of animals in recent times.
Amphibians are a richly diverse group of species. For hundreds of millions of years, they have evolved into an extraordinary variety of sizes, colours, behaviours, and life histories.
They are found on every continent except Antarctica, and in most habitat types: from forests to grasslands, from deserts to arctic tundra, from wetlands to the highest mountain range on earth.
But they are also among the most threatened groups of species in the world.
Amphibians are disappearing from the world
Amphibians have suffered the greatest decline of any class of animals in recent times. For the past four decades, scientists have been recording rapid population declines and amphibian extinctions all around the world. So much so that amphibians are now the most threatened class of all animals.
The crisis in numbers
What is causing the crisis?
Like many groups of species, amphibians face a daunting challenge from widespread habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, and overexploitation.
As well as these threats, amphibians are being assailed by a series of devastating pandemics. The most serious of these diseases to date has been Chytridiomycosis, which has decimated many of the amphibian populations exposed to it, particularly in mountainous areas of tropical forests and on tropical islands. It is caused by the chytrid fungus known as Bd (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis).
