AmphibiaWeb - Thorius adelos


Thorius adelos (Papenfuss & Wake, 1987) Sierra Juarez Hidden Salamander, Sierra Juarez Moss Salamander	family: Plethodontidae subfamily: Hemidactyliinae genus: Thorius
Taxonomic Notes: This is a small species known from fewer than 10 individuals. It has not been seen for many years, but the habitat in which it occurred is intact. It was originally placed in Nototriton, but when that taxon was subdivided by Garcia-Paris and Wake (2000, Copeia) it ended up in a new genus Cryptotriton. What made this assignment problematic was the fact that adelos was the only member of the genus north/west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Wake, Rovito, Maisano and Hanken (2012, Zootaxa) studied ct scans of the skeleton of a specimen and concluded that adelos is a member of Thorius, despite the fact that it lacks the subocular groove, present in all other species of Thorius. Several unique osteological features demonstrate that it is in the Thorius clade and should be assigned to that genus. These include the presence of a large dorsal fonatanelle in the skull and a columnar posterior process of the squamosal (see http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Thorius_adelos/ for osteological features).

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN Red List Status Account	Near Threatened (NT)
CITES	No CITES Listing
National Status	None
Regional Status	None
	Access Conservation Needs Assessment Report .