Speciation and Evolution of Montane Amphibians and Reptiles: Integrating Phylogeography, Systematics, and Conservation under Climate Change

Mountain uplift and climatic oscillation have long shaped the evolution of amphibians and reptiles across the world’s montane regions, driving pulses of diversification with strongly lineage-specific evolutionary trajectories. The Hengduan Mountains and broader Himalaya-Tibet region exemplify these processes, where Miocene orogeny combined with Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles repeatedly fragmented high-elevation habitats into “sky islands.” Although the roles of geographic isolation and ecological niche divergence in speciation are increasingly understood, the contributions of hybridization and introgression to adaptive radiation remain less resolved. Meanwhile, montane herpetofauna worldwide face mounting threats from climate-driven upslope displacement, habitat fragmentation, and emerging infectious disease.This Research Topic brings together multidisciplinary work on the evolution, biogeography, and conservation of mountain-dwelling amphibians and reptiles across global montane regions. We seek contributions that integrate multi-locus or phylogenomic datasets to delimit cryptic species, dissect the ecological and genomic drivers of diversification, and resolve taxonomic uncertainties within an explicit evolutionary framework. By coupling phylogeography with ecological niche modeling, we aim to reconstruct Pleistocene refugia and project future range dynamics under ongoing climate change. Ultimately, this collection will advance understanding of how orogeny and climatic oscillation have shaped herpetological diversity, providing a conceptual basis for conservation prioritization in montane biodiversity hotspots worldwide.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Methods, and Perspective articles on: (1) phylogenomics and integrative species delimitation in montane herpetofauna; (2) biogeographic history and the mechanisms of adaptive radiation; and (3) climate-driven range shifts, physiological limits, and conservation responses. Submissions should explicitly link empirical findings to broader evolutionary or biogeographic concepts. Manuscripts based solely on descriptive morphology, without phylogenetic, ecological, or distributional context, are discouraged unless they present substantial nomenclatural acts or range-restricted novelties. All submissions must represent original, unpublished work and adhere to the journal’s standard guidelines. We particularly encourage studies that combine genomic, ecological, and morphological evidence to provide integrative insights into the assembly and resilience of mountain biodiversity. Topic editors: Bo Cai, Wei Zhu, Tao Liang, Weizhao Yang, Dmitriy Skorinov Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84664/speciation-and-evolution-of-montane-amphibians-and-reptiles-integrating-phylogeography-systematics-and-conservation-under-climate-change