An Updated Checklist of the Amphibians of Bangladesh: Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation Status

Inan Rayan , Monirul Islam

Bangladesh is situated at the confluence of the Indo-Himalayan and Indo-Burma biodiversity hot spots and is home to a rich but poorly known amphibian fauna. By synthesizing published literature, museum records, historical reports, online biodiversity databases, recent taxonomic revisions, newly described species, and verified field observations, this study provides an updated checklist of amphibians of Bangladesh. The revised checklist recognizes 96 native amphibian species in 2 orders, 9 families, and 37 genera, of which 94 species are anurans and 2 are gymnophionan species, and no member of the order Urodela has been recorded from the country. Of the species, 6.25% are endemics and 93.75% are native non-endemics. The most species-rich family is Dicroglossidae (26 species), followed by Rhacophoridae (24 species), Ranidae (16 species), Microhylidae (15 species), Megophryidae (7 species), Bufonidae (5 species) and Chikilidae, Ichthyophiidae and Hylidae (1 species each). Several taxa are still only supported by historical or controversial records and need further confirmation. The study also identifies possible high-risk areas for the predicted distribution of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, highlighting emerging conservation issues. This revised checklist provides a critical baseline for further taxonomic, ecological and conservation studies, and provides important information for biodiversity assessment and habitat management in Bangladesh.