Lungless salamander

Lungless salamander
Temporal range: Miocene–present
Batrachoseps attenuatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Amphibia
Order:Urodela
Suborder:Salamandroidea
Family:Plethodontidae
Gray, 1850
Subgroups

Bolitoglossinae
Hemidactyliinae
Plethodontinae
†Palaeoplethodon
Spelerpinae

Native distribution of plethodontids (in green)

The Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.[1]

Biology

Palaeoplethodon hispaniolae preserved in amber

A number of features distinguish the plethodontids from other salamanders. Most significantly, they lack lungs, conducting respiration through their skin, and the tissues lining their mouths. Another distinctive feature is the presence of a vertical slit between the nostril and upper lip, known as the "nasolabial groove". The groove is lined with glands, and enhances the salamander's chemoreception.[1]

Adult lungless salamanders have four limbs, with four toes on the fore limbs, and usually with five on the hind limbs. Many species lack an aquatic larval stage. In many species, eggs are laid on land, and the young hatch already possessing an adult body form. Many species have a projectile tongue and hyoid apparatus, which they can fire almost a body length at high speed to capture prey.

Measured in individual numbers, they are very successful animals where they occur. In some places, they make up the dominant biomass of vertebrates.[2] An estimated 1.88 billion individuals of the southern redback salamander inhabit just one district of Mark Twain National Forest alone, about 1,400 tons of biomass.[3] Due to their modest size and low metabolism, they are able to feed on prey such as springtails, which are usually too small for other terrestrial vertebrates. This gives them access to a whole ecological niche with minimal competition from other groups.

Taxonomy

The family Plethodontidae consists of four subfamilies and about 380 species divided among these genera, making up the majority of known salamander species:[4]

SubfamilyGenus, scientific name, and authorCommon nameSpecies
Bolitoglossinae
Hallowell, 1856
Batrachoseps Bonaparte, 1839Slender salamanders
19
Bolitoglossa Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854Tropical climbing salamanders
117
Bradytriton Wake & Elias, 1983Finca Chiblac salamander
1
Chiropterotriton Taylor, 1944Splay-foot salamanders
12
Cryptotriton García-París & Wake, 2000Hidden salamanders
7
Dendrotriton Wake & Elias, 1983Bromeliad salamanders
6
Nototriton Wake & Elias, 1983Moss salamanders
13
Nyctanolis Elias & Wake, 1983Long-limbed salamanders
1
Oedipina Keferstein, 1868Worm salamanders
25
Parvimolge Taylor, 1944Tropical dwarf salamanders
1
Pseudoeurycea Taylor, 1944False brook salamanders
50
Thorius Cope, 1869Minute salamanders
23
Hemidactyliinae
Hallowell, 1856		Hemidactylium Tschudi, 1838Four-toed salamander
1
Plethodontinae
Gray, 1850		 Aneides Baird, 1851Climbing salamanders
6
Atylodes Gistel, 1868Sardinian cave salamander
1
Desmognathus Baird, 1850Dusky salamanders
20
Ensatina Gray, 1850Ensatinas
1
Hydromantes Gistel, 1848Web-toed salamanders
3
Karsenia Min, Yang, Bonett, Vieites, Brandon & Wake, 2005Korean crevice salamanders
1
Phaeognathus Highton, 1961Red Hills salamanders
1
Plethodon Tschudi, 1838Slimy and mountain salamanders
55
Speleomantes Dubois, 1984European cave salamanders
8
Spelerpinae
Cope, 1859		 Eurycea Rafinesque, 1822North American brook salamanders
27
Gyrinophilus Cope, 1869Spring salamanders
4
Pseudotriton Tschudi, 1838Mud and red salamanders
3
Stereochilus Cope, 1869Many-lined salamander
1
Urspelerpes[5] Camp, Peterman, Milanovich, Lamb, Maerz & Wake, 2009Patch-nosed salamander
1

Following a major revision in 2006, the genus Haideotriton was found to be a synonym of Eurycea, while the genera Ixalotriton and Lineatriton were made synonyms of Pseudoeurycea.[6]

Conservation Status

Conservation Status of Plethodontidae According to IUCN Redlist (2018)
Status Number of Species
Least Concern 94
Near Threatened 39
Vulnerable 63
Endangered 80
Critically Endangered 63
Extinct 1
Data Deficient 40

References

  1. 1 2 Lanza, B., Vanni, S., & Nistri, A. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
  2. ↑ Hairston, N.G., Sr. 1987. Community ecology and salamander guilds. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
  3. ↑ Salamanders a more abundant food source in forest ecosystems than previously thought
  4. ↑ Min, M.S., S. Y. Yang, R. M. Bonett, D. R. Vieites, R. A. Brandon & D. B. Wake. (2005). Discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander. Nature (435), 87-90 (5 May 2005)
  5. ↑ Camp, C. D.; et al. (2009). "A new genus and species of lungless salamander (family Plethodontidae) from the Appalachian highlands of the south-eastern United States". Journal of Zoology. 279: 1–9. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00593.x.
  6. ↑ Frost et al. 2006. THE AMPHIBIAN TREE OF LIFE (http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5781/1/B297.pdf)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.