Temporal and biogeographical patterns of new species descriptions in worldwide amphibians

Abstract

The temporal trends in species’ descriptions of new amphibian species in the period 1758–2017 were studied to understand whether the increase in the number of active taxonomists could have influenced the increase in the number of species discovered over the years, and whether there was any differential attention during the various periods towards especially one of three main orders of amphibians (Anura, Caudata or Gymnophiona). These aspects were studied using a suite of statistical methods. We highlighted that the temporal effect was not statistically homogeneous among the amphibian taxa, with a very strong effect of the years (1758–2017) on the species description numbers for only the order Anura. We also showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the number of active taxonomists (that increased remarkably in recent decades) and the yearly number of discovered amphibian species. Moreover, we showed that the rise of new descriptions by year was significantly quicker in the Neotropical region. In future years, it would be interesting to place the observed patterns within the specific history of the countries situated within the various biogeographic regions, including such aspects as the legacy of the ‘colonial time’, the post-colonization effect, the ‘cold war’, and the modern times. Further suggestions on possible research about correlation to biogeographic variables, type of rarity, threat category, and eco-behavioral traits of the species have been added.

Graphical abstract