LAO NEWT

(Laotriton laoensis)

The Lao newt was discovered only in 2002 and was the first known member of the salamander family in Laos. The researcher who described the species first saw it steeped in a bottle of alcohol used by villagers as traditional medicine. It occurs over a small range between 1,100m and 1,500m elevation along the northern edge of the Annamites, where the Annamite range transitions into the Luang Prabang mountains of northern Laos. It is not known to occur to the east of this range and across the Viet Nam border, and is therefore wholly endemic to Laos.

Although the species is found frequently in pools at the headwaters of streams, its range is limited and probably occurs as small isolated populations.

it more lucrative to sell to foreigners than local markets.

https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036%5B0145:ANSOTG%5D2.0.CO;2 https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036%5B0145:ANSOTG%5D2.0.CO;2 https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036%5B0145:ANSOTG%5D2.0.CO;2 https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036%5B0145:ANSOTG%5D2.0.CO;2

The description of the species in 2002 had an unintended consequence: local harvesting for the international “pet” trade, and to a lesser extent, for traditional medicine and meat. The novelty and rarity of the new species led to demand, particularly from European and Japanese collectors, and a trend of unsustainable overharvesting began. Being brightly coloured and active during the day in clear water, Lao newts were easy to catch, and some subpopulations were harvested within a few days and sold by the hundreds or by the kilogram for the pet trade. The 2013 Red List assessment estimated that it probably suffered a 50% population decline in the first decade after its discovery due to a combination of overhunting and loss and degradation of its habitat.

Before being introduced into the international pet market, the species was consumed locally and traded as meat and traditional medicine. However, the demand from pet keepers made

IUCN https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044 https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044 https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044 https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044 https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044 https://doi.org/10.1670/11-044

No national or provincial protected areas cover this species’ range. In 2008, it was listed as a Category 1 protected species under the Lao Wildlife and Aquatic Law, prohibiting its commercial exploitation – the first amphibian species to receive such protection in Laos. However, legal protection often means nothing in reality due to weak law enforcement, and this and other species of amphibians are still threatened by local collection. Therefore, conservation breeding and habitat protection must be prioritized to ensure its continued survival.

In 2023, at the same time as the similarly threatened Indochinese water dragon, the Lao newt was listed under CITES Appendix II, meaning no wild-taken specimens can be traded internationally for commercial purposes. Unfortunately, this listing came 10 years after it was called for by the Lao newt researchers and after it was listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List – a typical case of CITES parties acting too slowly.

“The trade in amphibians involves billions of animals annually, with trade occurring both legally (trade is not prohibited by governments) and illegally (most notably laundered through a lack of government regulation or a lack of adequate protection for the amphibian species). The lack of accurate and complete data on the trade, for both pets and meat, makes it impossible to monitor and accurately assess this threat, including the levels at which legal trade in