Tag Archives: Oaxaca

Thorius longicaudus Parra-Olea et al.

Long-tailed Minute Salamander (Thorius longicaudus)

The Long-tailed Minute Salamander was described in 2016, it is known from two localities; one near the village of Sola de Vega, and another on near the town of San Vicente Lachixio, both in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The species reached a length of about 7 cm, it was mostly blackish brown and had a distinct, tan-reddish stripe with coppery-brassy highlights and indistinct dark chevrons extending anteriorly from the back of its head to the end of its tail.

The Long-tailed Minute Salamander was still extremely abundant in the 1970s and many individuals were found hiding in all kind of crevices at roadside banks and in stands of pines under or inside logs, under fallen branches, and even under piles of cow dung. 

When the type localities were visited again in 2014, the pine-oak forests had vanished – not a single Long-tailed Minute Salamander was found, the species has gone extinct. [1][2]

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References:

[1] Gabriela Parra-Olea; Sean M. Rovito; Mario García-París; Jessica A. Maisano; David B. Wake; James Hanken: Biology of tiny animals: three new species of minute salamanders (Plethodontidae: Thorius) from Oaxaca, Mexico. PeerJ. 2016; 4: e2694.
[2] Christopher Kemp: Die verlorenen Arten: Große Expeditionen in die Sammlungen naturkundlicher Museen. Verlag Antje Kunstmann GmbH 2019

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edited: 06.09.2019

Thorius pinicola Parra-Olea et al.

Pine-dwelling Minute Salamander (Thorius pinicola)

The Pine-dwelling Minute Salamander was described in 2016, it was found at several localities north of the village of San Miguel Suchixtepec in the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The terrestrial species inhabited montane pine-oak forests, where it was found almost always between the bark and wood of upright ree stumps.

The Pine-dwelling Minute Salamander reached a length of 5 cm, it was mainly blackish, its flanks were black suffused with fine white speckling, the back was decorated with a broad brassy copper dorsal band etched with thin black lines. 

The species was last seen in 2001 and may now already be extinct. [1][2]

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References:

[1] Gabriela Parra-Olea; Sean M. Rovito; Mario García-París; Jessica A. Maisano; David B. Wake; James Hanken: Biology of tiny animals: three new species of minute salamanders (Plethodontidae: Thorius) from Oaxaca, Mexico. PeerJ. 2016; 4: e2694.
[2] Christopher Kemp: Die verlorenen Arten: Große Expeditionen in die Sammlungen naturkundlicher Museen. Verlag Antje Kunstmann GmbH 2019

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edited: 06.09.2019

Thorius aureus Hanken & Wake

Golden Salamander (Thorius aureus)

The Golden Salamander was described in 1994, it was restricted to a small area around the peak of Cerro Pelón on the northern slopes of the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico.

The ground-dwelling species inhabited pine-oak forests, where it was found among leaf-litter, like all of its congeners it was nocturnal and hid itself during daytime under rocks and fallen branches or logs.

The Golden Salamander reached lengths of about 5,5 cm, it was mainly blackish and had a distinct golden dorsal stripe spanning from its head to the end of its tail.

The species appears to have gone extinct sometime prior to 2008, when field surveys did not manage to finde even a single individual.

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edited: 06.09.2019

Ecnomiohyla echinata (Duellman)

Oaxaca Mountainforest Tree Frog (Ecnomiohyla echinata)  

The Oaxaca Mountainforest Tree Frog is known only from the type locality, the cloud forest at an elevation of about 2000 m at the northern slopes of the Sierra de Juárez Mountains in Oaxaca, Mexican.  

The species was last recorded in the year 1962, and is considered most probably extinct.  

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edited: 27.05.2019