The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has caused dramatic amphibian population declines and extinctions in Australia, Central and North America, and Europe. Bd is associated with >200 species extinctions of amphibians, but not all species that become infected are susceptible to the disease. Specifically, Bd has rapidly emerged in some areas of the world, such as in Australia, USA, and throughout Central and South America, causing population and species collapse. The mechanism behind the rapid global emergence of the disease is poorly understood, in part due to an incomplete picture of the global distribution of Bd. At present, there is a considerable amount of geographic bias in survey effort for Bd, with Asia being the most neglected continent. To date, Bd surveys have been published for few Asian countries, and infected amphibians have been reported only from Indonesia, South Korea, China and Japan. Thus far, there have been no substantiated reports of enigmatic or suspected disease-caused population declines of the kind that has been attributed to Bd in other areas. In order to gain a more detailed picture of the distribution of Bd in Asia, we undertook a widespread, opportunistic survey of over 3,000 amphibians for Bd throughout Asia and adjoining Papua New Guinea. Survey sites spanned 15 countries, approximately 36° latitude, 111° longitude, and over 2000 m in elevation. Bd prevalence was very low throughout our survey area (2.35% overall) and infected animals were not clumped as would be expected in epizootic events. This suggests that Bd is either newly emerging in Asia, endemic at low prevalence, or that some other ecological factor is preventing Bd from fully invading Asian amphibians. The current observed pattern in Asia differs from that in many other parts of the world.

Two new species of rhacophorid frogs in the genus Theloderma are described from high-elevation montane forest on the Kon Tum and Langbian Plateaus in Vietnam, on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. Both new species are differentiated morphologically from their congeners by their small body size (Theloderma, and are distinct from all congeners sampled (uncorrected sequence divergences at the 16S rRNA gene of >8.5% for all Theloderma for which homologous 16S rRNA sequences are available). The new species are differentiated from each other by dorsal pattern, extent of dorsal asperities, and by mitochondrial DNA.

The Leptolalax applebyi group of Asian leaf-litter frogs currently comprises four species of particularly small-bodied (<40 mm SVL) species distributed in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and northeastern Cambodia. In addition to their small size, the group is characterized by their morphological and genetic similarities, as well as their breeding habitat at headwaters of small mountain streams and seeps. A recent study suggested that at least two-thirds of the diversity of the group remained hidden within morphologically cryptic lineages. We expand upon the molecular, morphometric, and acoustic data and formally delineate and describe five of these lineages as distinct species: Leptolalax ardens sp. nov., Leptolalax kalonensis sp. nov., Leptolalax pallidus sp. nov., Leptolalax maculosus sp. nov., and Leptolalax tadungensis sp. nov. Due to habitat loss, the current ranges of these species are likely to be a fraction of their historical extent and under continued threat from deforestation.

The global trade in amphibians is widespread, involves hundreds of species, and has been implicated in amphibian population declines. The pet trade is the primary driver for population declines in one Southeast Asian newt species (Laotriton laoensis), and is a known threat to most of the 14 other known species from the region. Despite this, there has been little attempt to assess the impact of collection for the pet trade on Southeast Asian newts. We examined available import data from the US, Europe and Hong Kong, assessed current online trade and surveyed local pet traders within Southeast Asia. Large numbers of Southeast Asian newts are harvested from the wild to meet the demands of the international pet trade, with more than 7500 individual newts imported into the US alone during 2005-2014. Internet trade surveys revealed the global extent of the trade, with Southeast Asian newts for sale as pets in 15 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North America, at between~US$30-260 each. The trade in newts within Southeast Asia appears negligible in comparison. Urgent measures are required in order to conserve Southeast Asian newts but the lack of data on the species and number of individuals impacted by the pet trade makes it difficult to monitor and accurately assess its threat. We strongly recommend that all Southeast Asian newts be listed on the CITES. This measure should improve monitoring of trade and provides importing countries opportunity to curb trade in species that were illegally harvested, thus helping to safeguard wild populations.

A major obstacle in prioritizing species or habitats for conservation is the degree of unrecognized diversity hidden within complexes of morphologically similar, “cryptic” species. Given that amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of organisms on the planet, our inability to diagnose their true diversity is likely to have significant conservation consequences. This is particularly true in areas undergoing rapid deforestation, such as Southeast Asia. The Southeast Asian genus Leptolalax is a group of small-bodied, morphologically conserved frogs that inhabit the forest-floor. We examined a particularly small-bodied and morphologically conserved subset, the Leptolalax applebyi group, using a combination of molecular, morphometric, and acoustic data to identify previously unknown diversity within. In order to predict the geographic distribution of the group, estimate the effects of habitat loss and assess the degree of habitat protection, we used our locality data to perform ecological niche modelling using MaxEnt. Molecular (mtDNA and nuDNA), acoustic and subtle morphometric differences revealed a significant underestimation of diversity in the L. applebyi group; at least two-thirds of the diversity may be unrecognised. Patterns of diversification and microendemism in the group appear driven by limited dispersal, likely due to their small body size, with several lineages restricted to watershed basins. The L. applebyi group is predicted to have historically occurred over a large area of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, a considerable portion of which has already been deforested. Less than a quarter of the remaining forest predicted to be suitable for the group falls within current protected areas. The predicted distribution of the L. applebyi group extends into unsurveyed watershed basins, each potentially containing unsampled diversity, some of which may have already been lost due to deforestation. Current estimates of amphibian diversity based on morphology alone are misleading, and accurate alpha taxonomy is essential to accurately prioritize conservation efforts.