Cynops fudingensis, Wu, Yunke, Wang, Yuezhao, Jiang, Ke & Hanken, James, 2010

Wu, Yunke, Wang, Yuezhao, Jiang, Ke & Hanken, James, 2010, A new newt of the genus Cynops (Caudata: Salamandridae) from Fujian Province, southeastern China, Zootaxa 2346, pp. 42-52 : 48-50

Cynops fudingensis species nov. ( Fig. 4 ABCDE)

Holotype: CIB 97879, an adult female collected near Mt. Taimu (27°07´N, 120°10´E; elevation 718 m), Fuding, Fujian Province, P. R. China, by Xin Chen and Wenxiao Dong on 9 April 2009.

Paratypes: CIB 97869–78, 97851–52; same collection date and locality as the holotype.

Diagnosis: Cynops fudingensis is assigned to the genus Cynops by its molecular phylogenetic position and the following phenotypic characters: total length normally less than 100 mm; bony or warty ridge absent on head; skin finely granulated; vertebral ridge conspicuous; digits elongate and slender. The species is differentiated from congeners by the following combination of characters: postocular orange spot absent; parotoid gland poorly developed; vertebral ridge conspicuous; venter and chin bright orange without dark blotches, but a few small black dots may be present; two dark ventral spots on the shoulder and axilla of each side, but spots from opposite sides do not connect at the midline; transverse black gular stripe absent; irregular black spots on tail.

Description of the holotype: This is a small newt; SVL = 40.1 mm. Head shape oval in dorsal view. Snout truncate, projects slightly beyond mandible. Nostril on snout tip. Eye large. Labial fold well developed on posterior part of upper jaw. An inconspicuous longitudinal ridge posterior to each eye. Skull relatively narrow; length / width = 1.21. Posterior tip of maxillary bone lies anterior to and does not contact the pterygoid bone. Fronto-squamosal arch robust. Tongue elongate, enlarged anteriorly, with free lateral margin. Vomerine tooth patch ٨-shaped; tooth rows converge anteriorly and slightly exceed anterior limit of choanae. Parotoid gland poorly developed, gill remnants absent. Gular fold absent. Skin finely granulated on head, dorsum, flanks, limbs and tail; venter and underside of limbs smooth. A few longitudinal wrinkles on chin. Vertebral ridge elevated and conspicuous. Four fingers and five toes, all slender and elongated, lack webbing. Relative length of fingers, 1 <4 <2 <3; relative length of toes, 1 <5 <2 <4 <3. Tail laterally compressed, tapers posteriorly; caudal fin distinct; tail tip bluntly pointed. Cloacal opening olive-shaped, slightly protruded; no papillae on cloacal wall.

Color of holotype: Dorsum brownish yellow. Obscure black flecks on head and dorsum. Vertebral ridge dark orange. Venter bright orange with irregular lateral margin and a single black dot near groin. Chin bright orange without black dots; orange color continuous onto venter. Underside of axillae and all digit tips orange.

Orange dot on dorsal side of forelimb base. Base of first digits of forelimbs and hind limbs light orange. Orange red on cloaca, continuing to underside of tail.

In preservative, dorsum brownish black, vertebral ridge brown. All bright orange coloration fades to yellowish white. Obscure black spots remain visible on snout and tail.

Variation: Linear measurements are summarized in Table 2. The cloaca is wider and more swollen in males than in females, with papillae on the cloacal wall. The tail also is proportionally shorter in males. Tail tip rounded in males, bluntly pointed in females. Gular fold present in only a few specimens. In life, dorsal coloration varies from dark brown to lighter brown; ventral color ranges from yellowish orange to reddish orange. Number and position of ventral black dots vary among individuals; some specimens have black dots on the chin. Posterior limit of cloaca may be black.

Etymology: The specific name fudingensis is an adjective after the type and only known locality for this species, in Fuding, northeastern Fujian Province, southeastern China.

Habitat and distribution: The population was found in small, still-water puddles and ditches of a deserted agricultural field on a hillside, about 1 km from Mt. Taimu ( Fig. 4 C, D, E). Water is shallow (<15 cm in depth) but clear, with abundant aquatic plants and arthropods. The aquatic substrate is composed of soft earth and decomposing vegetation. Weeds grow densely in the field. Newts were active during daytime, crawling on the bottom. Another site that used to contain C. fudingensis is near the Jinfeng Temple on Mt. Taimu; newts were once found in ditches there in large numbers. However, human-released bullfrogs ( Lithobates catesbeianus ) and red-eared slider turtles (Trachemy scripta elegans) may have devastated this population (X. Chen, pers. comm.). Currently, C. fudingensis is known only from the Mt. Taimu region in Fuding.

Conservation status: Cynops fudingensis likely suffers from habitat destruction associated with tourism, introduction of invasive predators and collection by herpetological hobbyists. We therefore urge efforts to protect and conserve this species in its restricted geographic range in the Fuding area. Creation of a natural reserve could potentially reduce pollution from human waste and illegal collection, while local education and regular monitoring could detect and remove introduced predators (e.g., bullfrogs, slider turtles and domestic fowls) from the species’ natural habitat.

Comparative material examined: Cynops chenggongensis ( CIB 18434–39, from Yunnan Province, China), C. cyanurus ( CIB 95897, from Guizhou Province, China), C. ensicauda ( MCZ A26601 –02, A26605, A26610 , A26615–6 and A26624, from Ryukyu Islands, Japan), C. orientalis ( CIB 19584, 19619, 19622, 19636, 19671, 19677, 19698, 19712, 19717 and 19727, from Anhui Province, China; CIB 20347, 20353–4, 20356, 20366, 20371–2, 20374 and 20376–7, from Zhejiang Province, China), C. orphicus (labeled as C. orientalis , CIB 19450, 19470, 19476, 19516, 19520, 19525, 19544, 19562, 19577 and 19606, from Fujian Province, China), C. orphicus ( CIB 95898, MVZ 22472, 22503 and 241426–8, from Guangdong Province, China), C. pyrrhogaster ( MCZ A125121–4 and A125130–6, from Kanagawa, Japan) and C. wolterstorffi ( MVZ A7170–4, from Yunnan Province, China).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A: Dorsal view of Cynops fudingensis sp. nov. in life (CIB 97879, holotype: Ƥ); B: Ventral view of C. fudingensis sp. nov. in life (lower—CIB 97851, paratype: 3; upper—CIB 97852, paratype: Ƥ). C: Dorsal view of the holotype in preservative. D, E: Water puddles and ditches in the deserted agricultural field at the type locality. F: Two newts crawling in a submerged ditch. Photographs A – C were prepared by Yunke Wu, and D – F by Wenxiao Dong.