Tylototriton ziegleri Nishikawa, Matsui & Nguyen, 2013

Liu, Shuo, Hou, Mian & Rao, Dingqi, 2022, Confirmation of Tylototriton ziegleri Nishikawa, Matsui & Nguyen, 2013 in China, with discussion on the relationship between T. verrucosus Anderson, 1871 and T. panwaensis Grismer, Wood, Quah, Thura, Espinoza & Murdoch, 2019 (Caudata, Salamandridae), Biodiversity Data Journal 10, pp. 82707-82707 : 82707

Tylototriton ziegleri Nishikawa, Matsui & Nguyen, 2013

Materials

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: KIZ20210504 ; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; Taxon : scientificName: Tylototriton ziegleri Nishikawa , Matsui & Nguyen, 2013; family: Salamandridae ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; locality: Zhongzhai Village , Xiajinchang Township , Malipo County, Wenshan Prefecture ; verbatimElevation: 1750 m; verbatimCoordinates: 23°7′8″N 104°50′6″E; Event: eventRemarks: collected by Shuo Liu on 10 May 2021; Record Level: basisOfRecord: preserved specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: KIZ20210505 ; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; Taxon : scientificName: Tylototriton ziegleri Nishikawa , Matsui & Nguyen, 2013; family: Salamandridae ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; locality: Zhongzhai Village , Xiajinchang Township , Malipo County, Wenshan Prefecture ; verbatimElevation: 1750 m; verbatimCoordinates: 23°7′8″N 104°50′6″E; Event: eventRemarks: collected by Shuo Liu on 10 May 2021; Record Level: basisOfRecord: preserved specimen

Description

Description the specimens from China

Morphometric data are provided in Table 2 . Body moderately stout, medium in size (SVL 58.2-60.8 mm, TAL 68.0-69.7 mm). Head width almost equal to head length (HW/HL 0.96-1.05); head nearly hexagonal in shape in dorsal view, depressed, gently sloping in profile. Snout short, truncate, slightly beyond lower jaw. Nostril on anterior margin of snout, located notably closer to snout tip than to eye. Tongue oval, not notched distally, attached to mouth floor, but free laterally; vomerine tooth series in an inverted V-shape, converging anteriorly, but not reaching choanae. Labial fold absent; gular fold present, but weak; parotoids distinct, projecting posteriorly; costal folds absent. Dorsolateral supratemporal bony ridges on head protruding, beginning at the anterior corner of orbit continuing to anterior end of parotoid, posterior ends curved inside; mid-dorsal bony ridge on head short. Vertebral mid-dorsal ridge distinctly protruding, segmented, forming a row of tubercles, running from occiput region to the base of tail, separated from mid-dorsal bony ridge on head by a small gap. Rib nodules distinct, forming knob-like warts, relatively small, arranged in two longitudinal series on dorsolateral surfaces of dorsum from axilla to base of tail, counting 15-17 nodules on each side of body; rib nodules in the middle largest and decreasing anteriorly and posteriorly (Fig. 1 ).

Limbs slender, tips of fore-limbs and hind-limbs overlapping when adpressed towards each other along body; fingers and toes free of webbing; relative finger lengths III ＞II ＞ I ≥ IV, relative toe lengths III ＞ IV ＞ II ＞ I ≥ V. Tail long, TAL/SVL 1.12-1.20; laterally compressed along entire length, tapering posteriorly, tip pointed, dorsal fin more distinct posteriorly, ventral ridge smooth.

Skin rough with fine granules, dense on dorsum and ventrum, but small and sparse on throat. Cloacal region slightly swollen, vent as a longitudinal slit, vent edges with numerous small transverse folds.

Colouration in life

Dorsum almost uniformly black; venter slightly lighter than dorsum; bony ridges on head and vertebral ridge black, rib nodules black or reddish, only tips or most regions of fingers and toes, vent and ventral ridge of tail orange (Fig. 2 ).

Ecological notes

The specimens were collected in a small stream in the forest at night, the water in the stream was shallow, and both sides of the stream were covered with vegetation. No eggs or larvae were found.

Distribution

This species was recorded from Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces, northern Vietnam; Malipo County, Yunnan Province and Jingxi County, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China (Fig. 3 ). However, the populations in Cao Bang and Jingxi may not represent the true Tylototriton ziegleri (see Discussion section).

Figures

Figure 1. Tylototriton ziegleri from China in preservative. Dorsal view (left) and ventral view (right).

Figure 2. Tylototriton ziegleri from China in life: A-C the adult male KIZ 20210504; D-F the adult male KIZ 20210505.

Figure 3. Map showing the type locality of Tylototriton ziegleri in Ha Giang, Vietnam (1); the collection site of T. ziegleri in Malipo, Yunnan, China (2); the distributions of T. cf. ziegleri in Cao Bang, Vietnam (3 and 4); the distribution of T. cf. ziegleri in Jingxi, Guangxi, China (5); the type locality of T. verrucosus designated by Nussbaum et al. (1995) in Longchuan, Yunnan, China (6); the type locality of T. panwaensis in Kachin, Myanmar (7); the collection site of T. panwaensis in Tengchong, Yunnan, China (8); and the collection site of T. panwaensis in Yingjiang, Yunnan, China (9).