When ships dock in the Port of Mobile, customs officers have to check to see if there are any salamanders on board—and what kind. Checking is especially important for Alabama, a hotspot for the slimy amphibians.

This past week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a new rule that would ban importing 36 genera (groups of species), totaling approximately 426 species, more than half of the world’s salamander species. There are around 804 species of salamander worldwide. State-to-state transfers would still be allowed.