Clawed salamander
genus of amphibians
The genus Onychodactylus, commonly known as clawed salamanders, is a genus of salamanders endemic to eastern Asia. Prior to 2012, it was thought to contain only two species: O. fischeri in the Korean peninsula & Russian Far East, and O. japonicus in Japan, on the islands of Shikoku and Honshū. Later taxonomic revisions have led to many new, microendemic species to be described in the genus. All species are lungless with moderately developed parotoid glands. They inhabit moist, forested mountains near small rivers, streams, and lakes. Adults of each species can reach a length of 19 cm.
Species
Species recognized as of October 2023:
Onychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886)Onychodactylus fuscus Yoshikawa and Matsui, 2014Onychodactylus intermedius Nishikawa and Matsui, 2014Onychodactylus japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782)Onychodactylus kinneburi Yoshikawa, Matsui, Tanabe, and Okayama, 2013Onychodactylus koreanus Min, Poyarkov, and Vieites, 2012Onychodactylus nipponoborealis Kuro-o, Poyarkov, and Vieites, 2012Onychodactylus pyrrhonotus Yoshikawa and Matsui, 2022Onychodactylus sillanus Min, Borzée, and Poyarkov, 2022Onychodactylus tsukubaensis Yoshikawa and Matsui, 2013Onychodactylus zhangyapingi Che, Poyarkov, and Yan, 2012Onychodactylus zhaoermii Che, Poyarkov, and Yan, 2012
References
External links
AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian declines, conservation, natural history, and taxonomy. [web application]. 2010. Berkeley, California: Onychodactylus.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Clawed salamander” is genus of amphibians. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Clawed, salamander and genus, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “genus of amphibians” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q134467. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012, 2023, 1886 and 1782.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clawed salamander”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clawed salamander primary sources, Clawed salamander archive and Clawed research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clawed salamander”?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clawed salamander” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.