Members of the genus Batrachuperus are endemic to China and include seven described species, five of which are nationally protected salamanders in China. The Gongga Mountain National Nature Reserve (GGMNNR) is rich in animal and plant resources, including the Batrachuperus species. On 5 September 2022, the GGMNNR experienced the Luding earthquake, and this provided an opportunity to quantify the impact of a catastrophic events on the area of potentially suitable habitat for a rare species in the GGMNNR. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Luding earthquake on the area of potentially suitable habitat for the Batrachuperus species by combining Maxent modeling, remote sensing image processing, and GIS methods. The results showed that precipitation, temperature, and slope were the most important variables affecting the distribution of the Batrachuperus species. Currently, suitable habitats accounted for 40.67% (1664.10 km²) of the studied area (4091.10 km²), and these areas were mainly distributed in the northern, western, and southern portions of the GGMNNR. The destruction caused by the earthquake accounted for 4.87% (199.34 km²) of the studied area, and only 1.97% (32.78 km²) of the suitable habitat of the Batrachuperus species was destroyed. These results indicated that although the Luding earthquake affected the habitat of the Batrachuperus species in the GGMNNR, its effect was small. These findings enhance our understanding of the distribution of the Batrachuperus species and the effect of the Luding earthquake on biodiversity in the GGMNNR.

Sexual dimorphism (SD) is a widespread phenomenon among animals and has attracted considerable interest in evolutionary biology. Most studies on SD have been limited to a single population, and few have focused on multiple populations. In this study, size and shape SD were evaluated in three populations of Batrachuperus karlschmidti, a hynobiid species endemic to China. SD was not found in body size, but was observed in body shape. Males had larger relative dimensions in head length, head width, forelimb length, forelimb width, hindlimb length, hindlimb width, and tail length. Conversely, females were larger in the relative dimension of interlimb distance. Sexual selection can account for SD in head and limbs, thereby enhancing male reproductive success. Conversely, fecundity selection drives SD in limbs, tail length, and interlimb distance, ultimately improving the reproductive ability of both sexes. Differences in sexual shape dimorphism (SShD) traits were also found among populations, which may be caused by dissimilar levels of selection forces in the environment. This study provides insight into identifying the causes that promote sexual dimorphism, as well as the degree of difference in SShD traits among populations.