AmphibiaWeb - Pachytriton changi


Pachytriton changi Nishikawa, Matsui & Jiang, 2012 Chang's Stout Newt	family: Salamandridae subfamily: Pleurodelinae genus: Pachytriton
Species Description: Nishikawa K, Matsui M, Jiang J-P 2012 A new species of Pachytriton from China (Amphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae). Current Herpetology 31:21-27.
Taxonomic Notes: This species was described from pet store animals of unknown provenance ("China", based on word-of-mouth. This is unprecedented for amphibian taxonomy in this century. A few days later Pachytriton xanthospilos was described by Wu, Wang and Hanken (Zootaxa 2013 3388: 1-6), with exact locality data from specimens collected by Wu. Nishikawa et al. (2013, Current Herpetology 32: 150-158) argue that P. xanthospilos should be considered a junior synonym of P. changi. However, Wu and Murphy (2015 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 92: 108-117) recognize P. xanthospilos, arguing that it differs from the generally unknowable P. changi.

Conservation Status (definitions)