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Descriptions of five new species of the salamander genus Chiropterotriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from eastern Mexico and the status of three currently recognized taxa Project ID: 00000C898 Public
32 Media · 8 Specimens · Managed by: Jessie Maisano

The genus Chiropterotriton is endemic to Mexico with a geographical distribution along the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra de Juárez. The recent use of molecular tools has shown that Mexico’s amphibian diversity is highly underestimated, including a large number of cryptic, unnamed species. Chiropterotriton has 18 described species including terrestrial, arboreal and cave dwelling species. In previous molecular studies, the presence of multiple undescribed species was evident. We present a phylogenetic hypothesis based on mitochondrial data, which includes all described species and six undescribed taxa. Based on the morphological analyses and, when available, combined with molecular data, we describe five new species of the genus, Chiropterotriton casasi sp. nov., C. ceronorum sp. nov., C. melipona sp. nov., C. perotensis sp. nov. and C. totonacus sp. nov. In addition, we redescribe two others: Chiropterotriton chiropterus and C. orculus, and provide a comparable account of one additional sympatric congener. This increases the number of species in the genus to 23, which represent a considerable component of Mexican plethodontid richness.

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  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000097654 roll animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:85602 Chiropterotriton chiropterus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097655 pitch animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:85602 Chiropterotriton chiropterus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097656 yaw animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:85602 Chiropterotriton chiropterus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097662 roll animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92874 Chiropterotriton casasi Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097665 roll animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:138783 Chiropterotriton orculus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097664 yaw animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92874 Chiropterotriton casasi Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097663 pitch animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92874 Chiropterotriton casasi Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097666 pitch animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:138783 Chiropterotriton orculus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097667 yaw animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:138783 Chiropterotriton orculus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097668 roll animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163912 Chiropterotriton lavae Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
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