Climate change effects on the only Western Palearctic Plethodontids: Range changes and possible depletion of intraspecific genetic diversity

Aim: Amphibians are particularly sensitive to rapid climatic shifts, due to their eco-physiology, life history traits, and high frequency of narrowly distributed species. The genus Speleomantes encompasses the only extant Old-World plethodontids, with three species occurring in peninsular Italy and the remaining five endemic to Sardinia Island. Given the restricted ranges of Speleomantes species and their vulnerability to environmental change, we implemented Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) to estimate the likely impacts of various global warming scenarios on the extent and geographical location of climatically suitable areas.
Time period: Current, with ENMs projected to 2030, 2050, and 2070 under alternative Shared Socioeconomic Pathways.
Location: Italian Peninsula and Sardinia Island.
Major taxa studied: Speleomantes Dubois, 1984 (Caudata: Plethodontidae).
Methods: Ensembles of ENMs were fitted for each Speleomantes species, using the “biomod2” modelling platform in R environment. Then..., , , # Climate change effects on the only Western Palearctic Plethodontids: Range changes and possible depletion of intraspecific genetic diversity

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.np5hqc043](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.np5hqc043)

## Description of the data and file structure

The provided data set includes occurrence localities of the eight species of *Speleomantes* Dubois, 1984 (Caudata: Plethodontidae), being the target of climate-induced range-shift analyses showcased in the research article entitled \"**Climate change effects on the only Western Palearctic Plethodontids: range changes and possible depletion of intraspecific genetic diversity**\", accepted for publication in Journal of Biogeography.

The occurrence data set was created by integrating data from bibliographical sources, museum records and fieldwork spanning from 1969 to 2017. Occurrence records were validated relying upon the most recent scientific literature about *Speleomantes* (Ficetola et al., 2018). A further validati...