Description
Nototriton nelsoni is a slender moss salamander described from five individuals with a snout-vent length range from 28.1 - 34.6 mm. The snout is very short in comparison to the head. The snout has small nares. The body is long and thin with 13 coastal groves and sublingual folds. The hands and feet that are longer than wide with relative digit lengths of I < IV < II < III for the hands and I < V < II < IV < III for the feet (Townsend 2016)

DIAGNOSIS:

Phylogenetic analysis shows that it is part of a northern clade of subgenus Bryotriton with N. brodiei, N. oreadorum, and N. stuarti. It can be differentiated from them through various differences in their head and limb sizes as well as their numbers of maxillary teeth. It can also be distinguished from other species of the same subgenus (Bryotriton) through genomic differences (Townsend 2016).

COLORATION:

The body is a dark rufous to brown coloration throughout the body with darker browning on the underside and sides. They also have white speckling throughout the body. Their eyes are dark with orangish red irises (Townsend 2016).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Honduras

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Nototriton nelsoni is endemic to the highland Broadleaf Cloud Forest and Mixed Cloud Forest in Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texiguat, Honduras at elevations of 1420 to 1800m (Townsend 2016).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Nototriton nelsoni can be found in rotten logs in the daytime in sympatry with Oedipina gephyra, and crawling out of bromeliads around 1.5 m above the ground on rainy nights (Townsend 2016).

Trends and Threats
Notoriton nelsoni is a “Critically Endangered” endemic species. The population is at higher risk since they are not occurring in other areas locally or internationally in which they can be conserved. Assessing the Texiguat Moss Salamander in the wild is a difficult task. If they are declining overtime, then tracking their exact population size will also be difficult (IUCN 2020).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Prolonged drought
Floods
Climate change, increased UVB or increased sensitivity to it, etc.

Comments

Phylogenetics

Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood analyses of 16S, cyt b, and COI mtDNA indicate N. nelsoni is sister to the clade composed of N. brodiei, N. oreadorum, and N. stuarti. The next most closely related species is N. lignicola (Townsend 2016).

ETYMOLOGY:

The specific epithet, “nelsoni” is in honor of Dr. Cyril “Cirilo” Hardy Nelson-Sutherland who devoted his career to the study of flora in Honduras and guiding generations of biologists in Honduras (Townsend 2016).

References

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2020). “Nototriton nelsoni.” The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T112686840A112686933. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T112686840A112686933.en. Accessed on 20 February 2022.

Townsend, J. (2016). “Taxonomic revision of the moss salamander Nototriton barbouri (Schmidt) (Caudata: Plethodontidae), with description of two new species from the Cordillera Nombre de Dios, Honduras.” Zootaxa 4196 (4): 511–528 [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Nototriton nelsoni: Texiguat Moss Salamander <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/8548> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed May 5, 2025.

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

AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.