Skip to main content

Doi Soi Malai crocodile newt (Tylototriton soimalai), Salamandridae from Mae Tuen Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

Doi Soi Malai crocodile newt (Tylototriton soimalai), Salamandridae from Mae Tuen Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

NEWS - Doi Soi Malai crocodile newt (Tylototriton soimalai sp. nov.) from Mae Tuen Wildlife Sanctuary, Tak Province, northwestern Thailand, is described based on molecular and morphological evidence and is the seventh recorded species of the genus Tylototriton reported in Thailand.

Morphologically T. soimalai is distinct from other species with a head longer than wide; snout blunt or truncated; sagittal ridge on head narrow, short and distinct; dorsolateral bony ridges on head distinct and rough; parotoids distinct.

Vertebral ridges prominent, broad and unsegmented; 14-16 distinct rib nodules, rounded and isolated but posterior nodules connected; forelimb and hindlimb tips overlap when pressed along the body. Body background color is black, while markings are orange.

Molecular analysis indicates T. soimalai is a distinct lineage and sister to T. uyenoi with a genetic sequence divergence of 4.1% based on mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene. The new species is currently restricted to the pine forests of the Doi Soi Malai hills.

T. soimalai is a member of the subgenus Tylototriton that can be distinguished from T. anguliceps, T. phukhaensis, T. kachinorum, and T. shanorum by having a narrow, short, and distinct sagittal ridge (vs. prominent in T. anguliceps; narrow, long, and distinct in T. phukhaensis; very faint and barely distinct in T. kachinorum; absent in T. shanorum).

Distinguished from T. verrucosus and T. podichthys by having a rough dorsolateral bony ridge (vs. smooth in T. verrucosus; very rough in T. podichthys); from T. zaimeng by having an inverted V-shape of the vomerine tooth series (vs. bell-shaped in T. zaimeng).

Differs from T. panwaensis in having unsegmented dorsal horns (vs. weakly segmented in T. panwaensis); from T. himalayanus in the absence of grooves on both sides of the caudal peduncle (vs. present in T. himalayanus); from T. shanjing in the absence of sharp contrast between orange crown and black nape (vs. sharp contrast in T. shanjing).

Differs from T. yangi in having uniformly orange parotoids (vs. black except for the posterior tip of the parotoids, which are orange in T. yangi); from T. kweichowensis in having isolated pale markings on the rib nodules (vs. connected markings forming a continuous pale dorsolateral line in T. kweichowensis).

Differs from T. ngarsuensis in having orange markings on the parotoids, dorsal horns, rib nodules, and legs (vs. dark brown, almost black in T. ngarsuensis); from T. houi by having orange markings on the head, body, legs and tail (vs. extensive orange-red markings in T. houi); from T. pulcherrimus by the absence of the pale spots located ventrolaterally and on the sides of the body (vs. present in T. pulcherrimus).

The new species was discovered during the day, at around 12:00 when the adult male came to the surface and both larvae lived in an isolated mud puddle along the road to the summit of Doi Soi Malai during the rainy season, which is the mating season for Tylototriton species.

The puddle had murky water and a muddy sedimentary bottom. The surrounding area consists of evergreen hill forest. The puddle was about 1000 cm long, 500 cm wide and a maximum depth of 35 cm. No fish were observed.

The type locality is a popular destination for mountain biking and 4x4 road trips, especially in the period after the end of the rainy season, from October onwards, when this activity extends to the summit of Doi Soi Malai. This could have a negative impact on the population of this new species, especially during the larval stage.

The breeding season takes place around late April to August during the rainy season. Aquatic larvae of Tylototriton inhabit the breeding water for several months and undergo complete metamorphosis before the larvae start moving onto land.

Larvae were found in water bodies from August to November in T. panhai, August to December in T. uyenoi, December in T. verrucosus, and December to March in T. anguliceps. Therefore, the breeding sites should not be disturbed by anthropogenic activities.

The researchers recommend that T. soimalai sp. nov. should be listed as Endangered (EN) under the IUCN Red List criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) and a conservation plan is urgently needed.

Original research

Pomchote P, Peerachidacho P, Khonsue W, Sapewisut P, Hernandez A, Phalaraksh C, Siriput P, Nishikawa K (2024). The seventh species of the newt genus Tylototriton in Thailand: a new species (Urodela, Salamandridae) from Tak Province, northwestern Thailand. ZooKeys 1215: 185-208, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1215.116624

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Laniger bat tick (Ixodes lanigeri), new hard tick species (Ixodidae) from mouse-eared bats (Myotis) in Vietnam

NEWS - Researchers have identified Ixodes ticks from Vietnam based on morphological and molecular characteristics of females, nymphs and larvae as a new species, laniger bat tick ( Ixodes lanigeri ), which like other members of the Ixodes ariadnae complex appears to show a preference for vesper bats as a typical host. Historically, for more than a century and a half, only one species has been called the “long-legged bat tick”: Ixodes vespertilionis Koch. However, over the past decade, it has been molecularly recognized that long-legged ixodid ticks associated with bats may represent at least six species. Host associations and geographic separation may explain the evolutionary divergence of the new species from its closest living relative Murina hilgendorfi Peters in East Asia, Japan, as no Myotis or Murina spp. have overlapping distributions between Vietnam and the Japanese mainland. On the other hand, assuming that I. lanigeri may be present in other myotine bats and knowing that s...
Read more

Four new species and four newly recorded species of Omphale Haliday 1833 (Eulophidae) from China

NEWS - Researchers describe Omphale longigena , Omphale longitarsus , Omphale rectisulcus and Omphale xanthosoma as new species to science and four of their relatives ( O. brevibuccata Szelényi, O. connectens Graham, O. melina Yefremova & Kriskovich and O. obscura Förster) are reported from China for the first time; and a male O. melina is reported for the first time in the world. Omphale Haliday 1833 (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae, Entedoninae) includes 271 species worldwide, a cosmopolitan distribution and the second largest genus in Entedoninae. To date, 203 species from the Americas and Europe are divided into 18 groups. Prior to this study, only 11 species were known from China: O. longiventris (Ling, 1994), O. pulchra (Ling, 1994), O. gibsoni Hansson 2004, O. longiseta Hansson 1996, O. masneri Hansson 1996, O. mellea Hansson 1996, O. salicis (Haliday, 1833), O. stelteri (Boucek, 1971), O. straminea Hansson, 1996, O. sulciscuta (Thomson, 1878) and O. theana (Walker...
Read more

Giant golden spider (Nephila pilipes)

Kemlanding or giant golden orbweaver ( Nephila pilipes ) is an animal species in the Araneidae, a web spider with a vertical and asymmetrical mesh, sexually dimorphic with elongated females up to 20 cm in size and has a large investment in egg production and web construction, whereas males only a few millimeters. N. pilipes displays female gigantism and male dwarfism. Females usually have a body size of 30-50 mm, the cephalothorax is 15 mm long and 10 mm wide. The stomach is 30 mm long, 15 mm wide and is mostly tawny with yellow stripes. The female has black or brown, covered in thick hairs. The two rows of eyes stick out towards the back. Plastron is mostly black and brown. The legs are very long, stick-shaped with several joints, black and yellow, lacking of hairs. Males are 5-6.5 mm in size, cephalothorax is 2.5 mm long and 2 mm wide. The stomach is 4 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. The front eye is bigger than the back eye. The legs are light brown with some hair. Yellow carapace with ...
Read more