Description
Like other members of the Oedipina subgenus, Oedipina chortiorum is a slender, long-tailed species. It has a snout length of 47.0-52.0 mm and its tail is a little less than 1.5 times the snout-vent length. There are 19-20 costal grooves present on each side of the body, and there are 10-12 intercostal folds between adpressed limbs. Oedipina chortiorum has wide hands and feet, and its digital webbing extends to nearly the tip of its digits. Its snout is broadly rounded when viewed from above; it has 14-15 vomerine teeth and 32-38 premaxillary plus maxillary teeth (Brodie et al. 2012).

Diagnosis: Oedipina chortiorum can be distinguished from other members of the Oedipina subgenus by its costal grooves (14-15), intercostal folds (10-12), wide hands and feet (mean 1.55 and 2.10 mm, respectively), short tail (a little less than 1.5 times the snout-vent length), teeth (14-15 vomerine, 32-38 premaxillary plus maxillary), and digital webbing that extends to nearly the tip of its digits (Brodie et al. 2012).

Coloration in life: Oedipina chortiorum is almost uniformly black. The venter is slightly less dark than the dorsum (Brodie et al. 2012).

Coloration in preservation (alcohol after formalin): The body and top of the head is gray. The tail is mostly gray and is distally pale. The venter is slightly paler than the flanks of the boy and dorsum. The throat is a both a pale cream and gray color. The limbs are gray but are paler than the body (Brodie et al. 2012).

Variation: Oedipina chortiorum can have a snout length of 47.0-52.0 mm, head width of 5.00-5.20 mm, and head length of 7.20-7.60 mm. Individuals can have anywhere between 14-15 vomerine teeth and 32-38 premaxillary plus maxillary teeth. There can be 10-12 intercostal folds between adpressed limbs and their hands and feet have a mean of 1.55 and 2.10 mm, respectively (Brodie et al. 2012).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Guatemala

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Oedipina chortiorum is found approximately 6 km southwest of Concepción Las Minas, Chiquimula, Guatemala, underneath large pine logs in a pine-oak forest (Brodie et al. 2012).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

Comments
This species is named after the Ch’orti’, an ethnic group of Mayans residing where the species was first discovered (Brodie et al. 2012).

References

Brodie, E.D. Jr., Acevedo, M., Campbell, J.A. (2012). "New salamanders of the genus Oedipina (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from Guatemala." Journal of Herpetology, 46(2), 233-240. [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2012 Oedipina chortiorum: Chorti Worm Salamander <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7861> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Sep 18, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 18 Sep 2024.

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