Description
SVL 2.2 cm (4.5 cm). Short limbs and tail. Webbing moderate, hands and feet smaller than in C. adelos, shorter tail and limbs but larger nostrils larger than in C. nasalis. Brown with small blue spots on the upper parts, more numerous on the sides. Reddish dorsal stripe. Iris is copper (Campbell and Smith 1998; Raffaëlli 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Guatemala

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Endemic to Guatemala. Known only from the area around La Unión, Zacapa, Guatemala, at around 1570 m asl. It inhabitats arboreal bromeliads in cloudforest.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
This species lives in bromeliads in trees. It is presumed to breed by direct development. It is one of several species of tropical salamanders that have unusually large nostrils. The function of the nostril size is not known.

Trends and Threats
Until recently, this species was known only from the type specimen. It appears to be rare, and is considered Critically Endangered based on its very restricted range. Deforestation is a major threat (Stuart et al. 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities

Comments
Described by Campbell and Smith (1998); new genus Cryptotriton by García-París et al. (2000).

References

Campbell, J. A., and Smith, E. N. (1998). ''New species of Nototriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from eastern Guatemala.'' Scientific Papers of the Natural History Museum of the University of Guatemala, 6, 1-8.

García-París, M., Wake, D. B., and Price, A. H. (2000). ''Molecular phylogenetic analysis of relationships of the tropical salamander genera Oedipina and Nototriton, with descriptions of a new genus and three new species.'' Copeia, 2000(1), 42-70.

Raffaëlli, J. (2007). Les Urodèles du monde. Penclen Edition, France.

Stuart, S., Hoffmann, M., Chanson, J., Cox, N., Berridge, R., Ramani, P., Young, B. (eds) (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. Lynx Edicions, IUCN, and Conservation International, Barcelona, Spain; Gland, Switzerland; and Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2011 Cryptotriton monzoni <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5367> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Feb 5, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 5 Feb 2025.

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