Descriptions of five new species of the salamander genus Chiropterotriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from eastern Mexico and the status of three currently recognized taxa
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ID: 00000C898
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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.
Identifier | Taxonomy | Total Media | Date Added | Source |
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usnm:amphibians & reptiles:224212 | Chiropterotriton ceronorum | 4 | 2019-12-06 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:200693 | Chiropterotriton perotensis | 4 | 2019-12-06 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:178706 | Chiropterotriton melipona | 4 | 2019-12-06 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163945 | Chiropterotriton totonacus | 4 | 2019-12-06 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163912 | Chiropterotriton lavae | 4 | 2019-12-06 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:138783 | Chiropterotriton orculus | 4 | 2019-12-05 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92874 | Chiropterotriton casasi | 4 | 2019-12-05 | User Created |
mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:85602 | Chiropterotriton chiropterus | 4 | 2019-12-05 | User Created |