Mitogenomic Conservation Genetics of the Critically Endangered Liaoning Clawed Salamander

The Liaoning clawed salamander(Onychodactylus zhaoermii)is an endemic and critically endangered amphibian species of China.To study the population genetics of natural populations of this species,32 samples were collected from six different locations,and the mitochondrial genome was sequenced.Population genetic analyses showed that the Liaoning clawed salamander is composed of only one radialized cluster with ultralow nucleotide diversity.Late Pleistocene climate cooling(-100 to-30 kya)may have reduced the effective population size of the Liaoning clawed salamander,and the subsequent temperature increase(~25 kya to present)provided the opportunity for population expansion.Because of heat sensitivity,the maximum temperature of the prebreeding period,especially from March to May,is very important for the surface environment living in the Liaoning clawed salamander.Three suitable regions were predicted by the MaxEnt model,and the largest suitable region(approximately 899 km2)was at the four-county boundary area and was larger than the present’Natural Conservation Community of the Liaoning Clawed Salamander’.To ensure more effective protection of all Liaoning clawed salamanders,we suggest extending the current’Natural Conservation Community of the Liaoning Clawed Salamander’to include the four-county boundary area.