FrogEyes
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Another new Tylo, though a slightly unexpected provenence. Tylototriton wenxianensis dabienicus is described from Mt Dabien, Henan.:
Author's Workplace：College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
Key Words：Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae, Tylototriton, Tylototriton wenxianensis, new subspecies, China.
Abstract： Based on morphological and DNA sequencing analysis, a new subspecies of genus Tylototriton, which superficially resemble Tylototriton wenxianensis, was described from Shangcheng County, Henan Province, China. This new subspecies can be distinguished by the combination of the following characteristics: head length much greater than width; limbs short, tips of fingers and toes not touching when fore and hind limbs adpressed; tips of fingers reaching orbital anterior region when fore limbs stretched forward; margin of cloacal opening orange.
The paper is in Chinese, though some parts are decipherable regardless. The new subspecies is only compared to T.asperrimus, other T.wenxianensis, and both Echinotriton. This limits the the value of the comparison, although arguably it includes at least two of the most likely sister taxa. The genetic comparison is limited, including only a single mtDNA gene. While the new form is both genetically and morphologically distinctive, I see no indication that it was compared with more than a single other T.wenxianensis population. That indicates to me that they have not established that this population is ACTUALLY "distinct" from all others of the species, and could thus simply be one of many local varients of a single taxon. Since the highly limited genetic data faces the same limitation and ALSO places the two groups as closest relatives, it is again questionable whether they are mutually distinct. The genetic data are also limited to conclusions about maternal ancestry, and do not necessarily reflect selection, evolution, or total relatedness to other populations.
That said, the nature of the morphological features suggests to me that this is a full and valid species, it's just that the data do not necessarily support that conclusion yet. Since I don't yet read Chinese, I can't make full conclusions regarding the quality of the data. At the least, description of this form should help clarify identification of captive animals, as it identifies animals which have combined traits of T.wenxianensis and T.asperrimus. Keepers still need to account for T.hainanensis and T.cf.vietnamensis, which are similar. The full article can be downloaded free:
http://www.zootax.com.cn/viewmulu_en.aspx?qi_id=486&mid=11519
A NEW SUBSPECIES OF GENUS TYLOTOTRITON FROM CHINA (CUDATA, SALAMANDRIDAE)
Author of the article:CHEN Xiao-Hong, WANG Xin-Wei, TAO JuanAuthor's Workplace：College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
Key Words：Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae, Tylototriton, Tylototriton wenxianensis, new subspecies, China.
Abstract： Based on morphological and DNA sequencing analysis, a new subspecies of genus Tylototriton, which superficially resemble Tylototriton wenxianensis, was described from Shangcheng County, Henan Province, China. This new subspecies can be distinguished by the combination of the following characteristics: head length much greater than width; limbs short, tips of fingers and toes not touching when fore and hind limbs adpressed; tips of fingers reaching orbital anterior region when fore limbs stretched forward; margin of cloacal opening orange.
The paper is in Chinese, though some parts are decipherable regardless. The new subspecies is only compared to T.asperrimus, other T.wenxianensis, and both Echinotriton. This limits the the value of the comparison, although arguably it includes at least two of the most likely sister taxa. The genetic comparison is limited, including only a single mtDNA gene. While the new form is both genetically and morphologically distinctive, I see no indication that it was compared with more than a single other T.wenxianensis population. That indicates to me that they have not established that this population is ACTUALLY "distinct" from all others of the species, and could thus simply be one of many local varients of a single taxon. Since the highly limited genetic data faces the same limitation and ALSO places the two groups as closest relatives, it is again questionable whether they are mutually distinct. The genetic data are also limited to conclusions about maternal ancestry, and do not necessarily reflect selection, evolution, or total relatedness to other populations.
That said, the nature of the morphological features suggests to me that this is a full and valid species, it's just that the data do not necessarily support that conclusion yet. Since I don't yet read Chinese, I can't make full conclusions regarding the quality of the data. At the least, description of this form should help clarify identification of captive animals, as it identifies animals which have combined traits of T.wenxianensis and T.asperrimus. Keepers still need to account for T.hainanensis and T.cf.vietnamensis, which are similar. The full article can be downloaded free:
http://www.zootax.com.cn/viewmulu_en.aspx?qi_id=486&mid=11519