Descriptions of five new species of the salamander genus Chiropterotriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from eastern Mexico and the status of three currently recognized taxa.

Gabriela Parra Olea,Sean M Rovito,James Hanken,David B Wake,Jessica A Maisano,Mirna G Garcia-Castillo

doi:10.7717/peerj.8800

Abstract

The genus Chiropterotriton is endemic to Mexico with a geographical distribution along the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra de Juárez. The recent use of molecular tools has shown that Mexico’s amphibian diversity is highly underestimated, including a large number of cryptic, unnamed species. Chiropterotriton has 18 described species including terrestrial, arboreal and cave-dwelling species. In previous molecular studies, the presence of multiple undescribed species was evident. We present a phylogenetic hypothesis based on mitochondrial data, which includes all described species and six undescribed taxa. Based on the morphological analyses and, when available, combined with molecular data, we describe five new species of the genus; Chiropterotriton casasi sp. nov., C. ceronorum sp. nov., C. melipona sp. nov., C. perotensis sp. nov. and C. totonacus sp. nov. In addition, we redescribe two others: Chiropterotriton chiropterus and C. orculus, and provide a comparable account of one additional sympatric congener. This increases the number of species in the genus to 23, which represent a considerable component of Mexican plethodontid richness.

Highlights

The genus Chiropterotriton Taylor (1944) has proven to be one of the taxonomically most difficult of all genera of neotropical salamanders
Using a combination of linear morphological measurements, osteological data derived from micro-computed tomography scans, and previously published mtDNA and allozyme data we examine the taxonomic status of these populations
We present a phylogenetic hypothesis based on mtDNA which includes all 18 described species plus six undescribed taxa, including populations identified in previous studies as new species within complexes

Summary

Introduction

The genus Chiropterotriton Taylor (1944) has proven to be one of the taxonomically most difficult of all genera of neotropical salamanders. These salamanders vary widely in morphology and ecology from relatively large troglodytic forms to gracile arboreal species. This external morphological similarity has complicated recognition of new species and the relationships between them, based on morphological data alone

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