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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  
000097685 yaw animation usnm:amphibians & reptiles:224212 Chiropterotriton ceronorum Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097673 yaw animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163945 Chiropterotriton totonacus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097674 roll animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163945 Chiropterotriton totonacus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097672 pitch animation mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163945 Chiropterotriton totonacus Video 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097646 anterior body usnm:amphibians & reptiles:224212 Chiropterotriton ceronorum Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097644 anterior body mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:200693 Chiropterotriton perotensis Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097643 anterior body mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:178706 Chiropterotriton melipona Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097638 anterior body mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163945 Chiropterotriton totonacus Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097634 anterior body mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:163912 Chiropterotriton lavae Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-06 Restricted Download  
000097618 anterior body mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:138783 Chiropterotriton orculus Volumetric Image Series 2019-12-05 Restricted Download  
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