Two extremely rare new species of fossorial salamanders of the genus Oedipina (Plethodontidae) from northwestern Ecuador

PeerJ

article

Carolina Reyes-Puig¹  David B. Wake⁵  Ramachandran Kotharambath⁶  Jeffrey W. Streicher⁷  Claudia Koch⁸  Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia¹  Mario H. Yánez-Muñoz³  Santiago Ron^1,10 

[1] Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá;Museo de Zoología & Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Instituto de Diversidad Biológica Tropical iBIOTROP, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá;Unidad de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad;Fundación EcoMinga;Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California;Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala;Department of Life Sciences;Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere;Department of Geography, King’s College London;Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

关键词: Cryptic diversity;    Oedopinola;    Endemism;    Foothills of western Ecuador;    Choco;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.9934

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

We describe two new species of salamanders of the genus Oedipina, subgenus Oedopinola, from two localities on the northwestern foothills of Ecuador, at elevations between 921 and 1,067 m. These are the southernmost members of the genus. We examined different museum collections and we found just three specimens of Oedipina from Ecuador, obtained throughout the history of herpetological collections in the country. We identify two of the three specimens as new species, but refrain from assigning a specific identity to the third, pending further study. Oedipina villamizariorum sp. n. is a medium-sized member of the genus, with a narrow, relatively pointed head and blunt snout; dorsolaterally oriented eyes, moderate in size; and digits that are moderately long and having pointed tips. Oedipina ecuatoriana sp. n., somewhat larger, has a narrow head and broadly rounded snout; this new species differs from all known Oedipina by the distinctive presence of paired prefrontal bones and a reduced phalangeal formula: 0-0-1-0; 0-1-2-1-1. We provide detailed descriptions of the osteology of both new species. Finally, we present a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus, including one of the two new species, based on partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA.

【 授权许可】

CC BY