New warty newt, Paramesotriton jiangkouensis, or nomen nudum?

[FrogEyes]

I have just come across the descriptions of two [still unnamed] species of Paramesotriton related to P.zhijinensis and P.longliensis, and the sibling species of P.caudopunctatus. These species have mostly or all been previously identified in papers I've posted here.

The only one named is P.jiangkouensis, which is actually described as a subspecies of P.caudopunctatus, and it represents eastern [Guizhou] populations previously reported as that species. These populations have recently been demonstrated as a cryptic species.

The Researches of Phylogenetic Analysis on the Genera of Paramesotriton in Guizhou.

The trouble is...the paper is really really obscure. The English of the abstract is perhaps less than the usual quality, and I can find no concrete information on authors, journal name, or publication date. It appears on two websites, and was probably published in February:

Basic Science Paper
The Researches of Phylogenetic Analysis on the Genera of Paramesotriton in Guizhou | Basic Science Paper
164 pages (!!!) and $48 US

and

Tumor Research Center
The Researches of Phylogenetic Analysis on the Genera of Paramesotriton in Guizhou Archive - Tumor Research Center
128 pages and $90 US (!!!)

The paper itself appears legitimate, although I wonder about the quality and legitimacy of the publisher(s). The lack of information makes it quite difficult to obtain the paper, which might well be in Chinese too. I expect otherwise, as these appear to be aimed at an English-speaking market. I think the original journal is "Basic Science Paper", likely an inelegant translated title and based in China. The second appears to be a fundraising site [legitimate or otherwise] based in North America, which is reselling the paper based on the word "tumour" occuring in it.

The data and science of the paper are probably fine. However, the sketchiness of the journal [as far as I've been able to dig up] means that it might not meet the standards of the ICZN for nomenclatural acts [ie, naming new species]. Hopefully I'll be able to track down a copy of this paper and learn more. There are actually a lot of more or less inaccessible Chinese papers on newts, though the vast majority aren't this obscure.

 

[FrogEyes]

With more digging...

This appears to be the 2008 Master's thesis of Chen Xueping, at Guizhou Normal University. The corrected title being "The systematic study of Guizhou Newt species"

The two undescribed species are actually "Paramesotriton longliensis" and "Paramesotriton zhijini", which were later properly described as P.longliensis and P.zhijinensis. Which means that a formal description is still pending on "P.jiangkouensis" or whatever its name ends up being formally. Very rarely are names proposed only in unpublished theses, accepted as valid and published names, though it is common for thesis contents to be published later as multiple formal papers.

English translation from Google:
Google Translate

Chinese, for those who prefer:
贵州瘰螈属物种的系统学研究--《贵州师范大学》2008年硕士论文

 

[FrogEyes]

I am told that the formal paper is in the works for this species.

 

[FrogEyes]

As posted in another thread, this species has been formally described as Paramesotriton wulingensis.