H
henk
Guest
Just today an article was published in Nature talking on an the discovery of an Asian plethodont Karsenia koreana.
"Discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander p87 M. S. Min, S. Y. Yang, R. M. Bonett, D. R. Vieites, R. A. Brandon and D. B. Wake
Nature vol 435, number 7.038, page 87/90.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7038/index.html
Here's the summary :
It is widely thought that the major patterns of distribution of tetrapods are known. New species crop up from time to time, but typically in remote tropical regions, and only rarely are they novel lineages. Amphibians appear to be exceptions: a new frog species reported in Nature ( 425, 711−714; 2003) was so distinct that it was placed in a new family — though it was also from an understudied tropical region in India. But the discovery of a new salamander species in the North Temperate region comes as a major surprise. Found in South Korea, the new species resembles North American genera of the Plethodontidae family. The presence of plethodontids in Asia has many phylogenetic and biogeographic implications.
"Discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander p87 M. S. Min, S. Y. Yang, R. M. Bonett, D. R. Vieites, R. A. Brandon and D. B. Wake
Nature vol 435, number 7.038, page 87/90.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7038/index.html
Here's the summary :
It is widely thought that the major patterns of distribution of tetrapods are known. New species crop up from time to time, but typically in remote tropical regions, and only rarely are they novel lineages. Amphibians appear to be exceptions: a new frog species reported in Nature ( 425, 711−714; 2003) was so distinct that it was placed in a new family — though it was also from an understudied tropical region in India. But the discovery of a new salamander species in the North Temperate region comes as a major surprise. Found in South Korea, the new species resembles North American genera of the Plethodontidae family. The presence of plethodontids in Asia has many phylogenetic and biogeographic implications.