Salamandra Garsault 1764

BEUKEMA, WOUTER, DE POUS, PHILIP, DONAIRE-BARROSO, DAVID, BOGAERTS, SERGÉ, GARCIA-PORTA, JOAN, ESCORIZA, DANIEL, ARRIBAS, OSCAR J., MOUDEN, EL HASSAN EL & CARRANZA, SALVADOR, 2013, 3661, Zootaxa 3661 (1), pp. 1-60 : 22

Genus Salamandra Garsault 1764

Dubois and Raffaëlli (2009) recently revised the taxonomy of North African Salamandra and recognized three species, one of which undescribed, and placed these in the subgenus Algiandra Dubois and Raffaëlli 2009 . Their rationale for these changes depended on prior demonstrated mitochondrial divergence ( Donaire-Barroso & Bogaerts 2003a; Escoriza & Comas 2007), and descriptive data on several morphological characters. However, as the supporting data for recognition of these taxa at species level is incomplete (morphology) or inconsistent (mitochondrial relations, reproductive behaviour) with current knowledge (e.g. Beukema et al. 2010, see below for details), a new rearrangement of the North African Salamandra taxa is proposed here. Additionally, due to the fact that an extraordinary degree of adaptive, intraspecific divergence is present within the genus Salamandra , morphological synapomorphic characters of proposed subgenera by Dubois and Raffaëlli (2009) are ambiguous and vary significantly even within recognized taxa. This is at least true for the proposed characters size, colour(s) and associated pattern, cranial morphology and altitudinal distribution ( Eiselt 1958). As recognition of subgenera within Salamandra could unnecessarily complicate the already confusing systematics of the genus, we do not follow this proposal.