Initial Amphibian Molecular Baraminology based on Analysis of the Mitochondrial Genome and Genome Size

Amphibians are a class of vertebrates that are generally small, soft-skinned, and can live both on land and in water. They can also be either fully aquatic or fully terrestrial (Pough 2007). Three extant orders belong to Amphibia, namely Anura (frogs and toads), Caudata (salamanders and newts), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Previous baraminology studies have identified 28 amphibian baramins.
The present study analyzed the mitochondrial genome of 362 amphibian species from the National Center for Biotechnology Information Database. C-values are also analyzed to estimate genome size using the Genome Size Analysis tool at The Molecular Baraminology Analysis Tool Suite (Cserhati and Maggs 2025). This was done to augment morphological results from previous studies with molecular results.
Furthermore, two new statistical tests were introduced to better filter putative holobaramins. These included skewness tests that measure how much sequence similarity values deviate from the normal distribution and the Dip test that measures unimodality.
Four putative anuran kinds were found which corresponded to the genera Bombina, Kaloula, Pelophylax, and Xenopus. Three putative caudatan kinds were also predicted: the genera Echinotriton + Tylototriton, Triturus, and Ambystoma. Lastly, two putative gymnophionan kinds were found: Caecilia + Oscaecilia (family Caeciliidae), Microcaecilia (family Siphonopidae), and one species from each of the genera Grandisonia, Hypogeophis, and Praslinia (family Grandisoniidae). However, the results from the analysis of the order Gymnophiona were not statistically significant enough to derive final conclusions. Therefore, it is possible that Gymnophiona consists of a single holobaramin.