Bolitoglossa muisca López-Perilla, Fernández-Roldán, Meza-Joya & Medina-Rangel, 2023
Muisca salamander (English), Salamandra Muisca (Spanish) Subgenus: Eladinea | family: Plethodontidae subfamily: Hemidactyliinae genus: Bolitoglossa |
Species Description: López-Perilla YR, Fernández-Roldán JD, Meza-Joya FL, Medina-Rangel GF. 2023. A new Bolitoglossa (Amphibia, Caudata, Plethodontidae) from the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. ZooKeys 1158: 27–48. | |
Etymology: The species epithet is a reference to the indigenous Muiscas people of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and Sabana de Bogotá. The Muisca revere amphibians and associate them with sex, fertility, and the arrival of rainy seasons (López-Perilla et al. 2023). |
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Description DIAGNOSIS: When B. muisca is compared to its sister species, B. adspersa has less webbing on its hands and feet. Bolitoglossa muisca is also slightly larger and its tail is thick and short relative to the trunk, which is the opposite of B. adspersa. Compared to B. capitana, B. muisca is smaller in size, has fewer maxillary and vomerine teeth, and has a small gular fold. Bolitoglossa muisca can be differentiated from B. pandi by the focal species being slightly larger, having smoother skin, a rectangular tail that becomes wider than the base, and oval third digits (López-Perilla et al. 2023). COLORATION: In life, the dorsal background color on the head, body, and tail varies greatly between Orange-Rufous, Dark Salmon, and Raw Umber following Köhler’s color catalogue (2012). They can be speckled with Dark Salmon or Raw Umber depending on the background color. There may be white stippling on their lateral surfaces and an irregular thin white or Light-Yellow Ochre line on the flanks, dorsum, legs and tail. The ventral background color is white or cream and may have Raw Umber speckles, reticulations, and/or blotches. The ventral surfaces of the limbs and tail have Light Yellow-Orange vermiculations and the ventral surfaces of its hands and feet are olive-brown. The margins of the ventral coloration may be indistinct. The salamander’s irises are Light Sky Blue with Pratt’s Rufous reticulations (López-Perilla et al. 2023). In preservative, the holotype’s Raw Umber with Dark salamon speckling is retained. However, the formerly white lateral and ventral surfaces are now Smoke Grey. The ventral speckling is still Raw Umber but the ventral surfaces of the hands and feet become Grayish Horn. The irises are now Amber with Orange Rufous reticulations (López-Perilla et al. 2023). VARIATION: There is individual and sexual variation. Specifically, B. muisca has a wide chromatic variation (see coloration in life above). An exception to this variation is that the ventral background color is consistently white or cream regardless of age or sex. Sexually, males possess three premaxillary teeth that piece the upper lip, which the females lack (López-Perilla et al. 2023). Distribution and Habitat Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Colombia
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors During the day, a few individuals were found hiding in bromeliads that were less than 2m above the ground (López-Perilla et al. 2023). Boliotoglossa muisca secretes a sticky, white mucoserous liquid when being handled. The substance is presumably toxic and used as a predator deterrent (López-Perilla et al. 2023). Like many other salamanders, this species has the ability to regenerate its tail, and uses a rapidly protruding tongue to catch insect prey. Individuals lack lungs and rely entirely on cutaneous respiration (López-Perilla et al. 2023). At least two Pristimantis species, one identified as P. uisae, and the Anolis lizard, A. heterodermus, are found in sympatry with B. muisca (López-Perilla et al. 2023). Larva Trends and Threats The type locality of the species is in a protected area called; “Distrito de Manejo Integrado Cerro Manjui - Salto del Tequendama” and it is led by Empresas Públicas de Medellín and Fundación Natura with a mission of improving connectivity between cloud forest remnants in the Tequendama area (López-Perilla et al. 2023). Possible reasons for amphibian decline General habitat alteration and loss Comments OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION: Bolitoglossa muisca was acknowledged as a candidate species as early as 1963 by Arden H. Brame and David B. Wake, who found diagnostic morphological differences based on one specimen. However, due to low sample size the new species was not described then. Sometime between the late 1980s and early 1990s, Brame and Wake appeared to have worked on a manuscript that described three new Bolitoglossa species from Colombia, which would have included B. muisca, but the manuscript was never published. The species authority of B. muisca found the type specimens Brame and Wake would have used and confirmed they were the same species, but unfortunately the specimens were in poor condition and thus relegated to referred specimens instead of type specimens (López-Perilla et al. 2023). References López-Perilla, Y. R., Fernández-Roldán, J. D., Meza-Joya, F. L., and Medina-Rangel, G. F. (2023). A new Bolitoglossa (Amphibia, Caudata, Plethodontidae) from the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. ZooKeys, 1158, 27–48. [link] Originally submitted by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao (2025-03-21) Description by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao, Ann T. Chang (updated 2025-03-21)
Distribution by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao (updated 2025-03-21)
Life history by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao (updated 2025-03-21)
Larva by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao (updated 2025-03-21)
Trends and threats by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao (updated 2025-03-21)
Comments by: Adil Qureshi, Isabella Iannozzi, Max Mao, Ann T. Chang (updated 2025-03-21)
Edited by: Ann T. Chang (2025-03-21) Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2025 Bolitoglossa muisca: Muisca salamander (English) <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9727> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed May 5, 2025.
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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 5 May 2025. AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use. |