AmphibiaChina 中国两栖类.

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN Red List Status Account CITES No CITES Listing National Status None Regional Status None

Description
Hynobius glacialis is a moderately large species, the largest among Taiwanese Hynobius. Adult SVL ranges from 47.8-67.4 mm, and tail length from 37.1-56.5 mm. Head and body roughly form a cylinder. Eyes are protuberant. The number of vomerine teeth (U-shaped) ranges from 42-80; number of upper jaw teeth from 47-74; and number of lower jaw teeth from 45-75. There are usually 12 costal grooves (range is 11-13) between the limbs. Tips of fore- and hindlimb toes touch when limbs are adpressed to the flank. Feet are small with discrete digits: four unwebbed toes on each forelimb and five unwebbed toes on each hindlimb.

Yellowish brown dorsal side is decorated evenly with deep black, irregular, short stripes. Ventral side of the head is gray brown, with numerous pale yellow spots. Trunk and limbs are gray to dark gray ventrally, with pale yellow blotches near flanks. Individuals vary in the number of dorsal black stripes and ventral yellow blotches.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Taiwan

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Occurs in the northern Central and Syueshan Mountains Ranges of Taiwan at altitudes over 3000 m. Hynobius glacialis lives in the vicinity of alpine tundra, generally along creeks, cold springs, and seepages. During the day, they hide under rocks on gravel beds.

Comments
Hynobius glacialis is similar to H. sonani in morphology, but has a narrower head and shorter hindlimbs.

The specific name glacialis is Latin for glacial or icy, referring to the glacial relics on Mount Nanhuda.

References

Lai, J.-S., Kye, K.-Y. (2008). ''Two new Hynobius (Caudata: Hynobiidae) salamanders from Taiwan.'' Herpetologica, 64(1), 63-80.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Hynobius glacialis: Nanhu Salamander <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7105> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 26, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Dec 2024.

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