Tylototriton ngoclinhensis Phung, Pham, Nguyen, Ninh, Nguyen, Bernardes, Le, Ziegler & Nguyen, 2023
- Dataset
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
- Rank
- SPECIES
- Published in
- Phung, Trung My, Pham, Cuong The, Nguyen, Truong Quang, Ninh, Hoa Thi, Nguyen, Huy Quoc, Bernardes, Marta, Le, Son Thanh, Ziegler, Thomas, Nguyen, Tao Thien (2023): Southbound - the southernmost record of Tylototriton (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) from the Central Highlands of Vietnam represents a new species. ZooKeys 1168: 193-218, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1168.96091, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1168.96091
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Amphibia
- order
- Caudata
- family
- Salamandridae
- genus
- Tylototriton
- species
- Tylototriton ngoclinhensis
description
Description of holotype. A medium-sized male (SVL 66.5 mm, TL 59.5 mm). Head longer than wide (HW / HL 81.6 %); head slightly concave on the top; snout short, truncate in dorsal view, slightly angular shaped in profile and protruding beyond lower jaw; nostril closer to the snout tip than to the eye; upper lip thick, fleshy and overlapping lower lip under the eye region; dorsolateral bony ridges on head prominent, moderately protruding, from above eye to above anterior end of parotoid, posterior ends relatively thick and scrolled inside; mid-dorsal ridge on head distinct and thin; parotoids enlarged, projecting backwards; tongue oval, attached to anterior floor of mouth, free laterally and posteriorly; vomerine teeth series in an inverted V-shape, converging anteriorly and reaching choanae; glandular vertebral ridge large, high, segmented tuberculate, extending from top of head to base of tail; rib nodules large, forming knob-like warts, distinctly isolated from each other, 14 on each side of body from axilla to base of tail; gular fold present. Limbs comparatively long, and slender; length of forelimbs approximately equal to hind limbs; relative length of forelimb FORE / SVL ratio 39.0 %, relative length of hind limb HIND / SVL ratio 38.1 %; tips of forelimb and hind limb overlapping when adpressed along the body; tips of fingers reaching between eye and nostril when foreleg is laid forward; fingers and toes well developed, free of webbing; fingers four, comparative finger lengths 1 FL <4 FL <2 FL <3 FL; toes five, comparative toe lengths 1 TL <5 TL <2 TL <4 TL <3 TL. Tail length shorter than the snout-vent length (TL / SVL 89.5 %); tail compressed laterally, the base relatively broad, tapering posteriorly, tail tip pointed; tail height less than the width at the tail base; dorsal fin fold relatively high; ventral side smooth. In general, the appearance of the tail is relatively low and flat. Dorsal skin very rough, with small granules and larger warts on dorsal surfaces of head and dorsum, lateral sides of body and tail; ventral skin with tubercles shaped like transverse wrinkles; throat with numerous tiny flat tubercles; surfaces of head ridges and middorsal vertebral ridge rough; limbs dorsally with numerous tiny tubercles, volar and plantar surfaces of hands and feet with tiny grooves forming reticulated pattern; flattened outer metacarpal and metatarsal tubercles distinct on palms and soles, respectively. Cloacal region slightly swollen, vent as a longitudinal slit, vent edges with numerous small transverse folds.
description
Figs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Proposed common name: Ngoc Linh Crocodile Newt
description
Morphological measurements. Morphometric measurements of Tylototriton ngoclinhensis sp. nov. examined in this study are given in Table 3.
description
Secondary sexual characteristics. Males are probably smaller than females but sample size was small (n = 3) and thus needs confirmation based on further records in the future. The female cloacal slit is short and its inner cloacal walls have no papilla. The male has papilla on its inner cloacal wall and its cloaca presents a long slit.
diagnosis
Diagnosis. The new species is assigned to the genus Tylototriton and the subgenus Tylototriton Yaotriton based on the results of the molecular phylogenetic analyses and the following combination of morphological attributes: rough skin covered with fine warts, the presence of dorsolateral bony ridges on the head; the presence of dorsolateral glandular warts on the body; quadrate spine absent (Nussbaum and Brodie 1982; Nishikawa et al. 2013 a; Le et al. 2015). Furthermore, the species is diagnosed from its congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) size medium (SVL 60.8 - 66.5 mm, TL 57.6 - 61.8 mm in males, and SVL 72.5 - 75.6 mm, TL 62.9 - 67.9 mm in females); (2) head longer than wide; (3) parotoids very prominent and enlarged, projecting backwards; (4) tail length shorter than the snout-vent length; (5) vertebral ridge large, high, and glandular in appearance (6) 14 distinct dorsolateral glandular warts; (7) gular fold present; (8) tips of fore- and hind limbs overlapping when adpressed along the body; (9) tips of fingers reaching between eye and nostril when foreleg is laid forward; (10) dorsal surface and lateral sides of the head, upper and lower lips, rib nodules, vertebral ridge, peripheral area of the cloaca, and the ventral edge of tail with orange coloration; (11) presence of a distinct black line extending from the posterior end of the eye towards the shoulder.
distribution
Distribution. The new species is currently known only from the Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve, Kon Tum Province, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Fig. 5).
etymology
Etymology. The specific epithet ngoclinhensis refers to the type locality of the new species, Ngoc Linh Mountain in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. As common names, we suggest Ngoc Linh Crocodile Newt (English), Ca coc s ần ng ọc linh (Vietnamese).
materials_examined
Material examined. Holotype. IEBR A. 5130 (Field No KT 2022.02), an adult male collected by T. M. Phung on 22 May 2022 in the montane evergreen forests of Ngoc Linh Natural Reserve, Dak Glei District, Kon Tum Province, Central Vietnam at 1.854 m a. s. l. Paratypes. IEBR A. 5131, A. 5132 (Field No KT 2022.01, KT 2022.5), two adult males and IEBR A. 5133, A. 5134 (Field No KT 2022.03, KT 2022.6), two adult females, collected by T. M. Phung; IEBR A. 5135 (Field No KT 2022.4), an adult female, collected by S. T. Le on 20 May 2022, the same collection data as the holotype.