Significance of pre-Quaternary climate change for montane species diversity: Insights from Asian salamanders (Salamandridae: Pachytriton)

► We address the impact of paleoclimate change on montane salamanders in East Asia. ► We infer the species tree of Pachytriton using four DNA loci. ► Initial divergence coincided with intensification of East Asian summer monsoon. ► The buffer-zone model suggests population decline during the warmer Pliocene. ► DNA data corroborates the impact of warming to Pachytriton.