A new cryptic species of Tylototriton (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) from mysterious mountain lakes in Manipur, north-eastern India

By

Decemson, Ht.
Lalremsanga, Hmar Tlawmte
Elangbam, Premjit Singh
Vabeiryureilai, Mathipi
Shinde, Parag
Purkayastha, Jayaditya
Arkhipov, Dmitriy V.
Bragin, Andrey M.
Poyarkov, Nikolay A

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-8-14

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

36

Pages

203--224

Subjects

16S rRNA , endemism , Khongtheng Mountain Range , mtDNA genealogy , ND2 , taxonomy , Tylototriton zaimeng sp. nov.

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.36.e106614

 

Abstract

An integrative taxonomic analysis combining molecular and morphological lines of evidence revealed a new cryptic species in the Tylototriton verrucosus species group from Manipur, north-eastern India. The new species was previously confused with T. himalayanus and T. verrucosus. Tylototriton zaimengsp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by medium body size, head massive and wide with rounded snout and very wide and protruding supratemporal bony ridges and a well-developed sagittal ridge, short limbs not overlapping when adpressed along body, wide and not segmented vertebral ridge distinct, 13–14 pairs of rib nodules, brown colouration with dull orange to yellowish-brown markings on head, vertebral ridge, rib nodules, palms, soles, vent and ventral tail ridge and by vomerine teeth organised in two distinctly curved bell-shaped series. Phylogenetic analysis of the ND2 and 16S rRNA mtDNA genes confirmed the placement of the new species to the Clade I of the subgenus Tylototriton and suggested it is a sister species of T. panwaensis and T. houi (p-distance 3.0% in ND2 gene). The range of the new species is restricted to the Khongtheng Mountain Range and is isolated from the range of T. panwaensis and T. houi in northern Myanmar and southern China, respectively. We suggest the new species to be considered as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List.