Description
Oedipina petiola is a worm salamander that was described from a single subadult male with snout-vent-length of 42.6 mm. The snout short and rounded in profile and truncated from the dorsal view. The small nostrils are near the tip of the snout. The eyes bulge out slightly, which is visible from the dorsal and profile views. There are 17 costal grooves. Each of the four short limbs end has very narrow hands/feet. The relative finger lengths are I < IV < II < III and the relative toe lengths are I < V < II < IV < III. Its tail is very long and ends with a blunt tip (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

DIAGNOSIS:

This species is distinguished from O. elongate, O. gephyra, and O. tomasi through the narrower, unwebbed feet of O. petiola (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

COLORATION:

In life, the dorsal surfaces of O. petiola is black from head to tail with lighter grey limbs. The ventrum is paler than the dorsum. In alcohol the O. petiola has a lighter tone, its body, overall, becomes grayish black. However, the gular and ventral surfaces of the limbs are pale brown. White iridophores appear on the lateral surfaces of the body and the tail remains black (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Honduras

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

The holotype of O. petiola was found on the south slope of Cerro Búfalo in Parque Nacional Pico Bonito, located in the central portion of the Cordillera Nombre de Dios, Honduras. The specimen was specifically found under a log in a broadleaf dominated cloud forest at 1580 m in elevation (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Oedipina petiola can be found in sympatry with the Nototriton barbouri and Bolitoglossa porrasorum complexes, however the latter species are known to be arboreal while the O. petiola holotype was found on the ground (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

Like other Plethodonts, O. petiola is expected to breed via direct development (IUCN 2020).

Salamanders in the Oedipina genus are burrowing species and found in moist areas since they breath cutaneously and do not have lungs (Brame 1968).

Trends and Threats
As of 2020, O. petiola is only known from the holotype, which was found in 1995. Because of this and because of the assumed small range and population size, the species has a threat status of “Critically Endangered” and is potentially extinct (IUCN 2020). Parque Nacional Pico Bonito, where O. petiola resides, has limited protection as this mountainous region is a major source of water for local cities and towns, however, deforestation continues to take place (McCranie and Townsend 2011). Threats to the species include landslides, residential and commercial development, expansion of agriculture and aquaculture, deforestation, invasive species, and climate change (IUCN 2020).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Prolonged drought
Floods
Habitat fragmentation
Introduced competitors
Loss of genetic diversity from small population phenomena
Climate change, increased UVB or increased sensitivity to it, etc.

Comments

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS:

ETYMOLOGY:

The species epithet “petiola” is from the Latin word “petioles”, which means “diminutive foot” and refers to the narrow feet in this species (McCraine and Townsend 2011).

References

Brame, A. H., Jr. (1968). "Systematics and evolution of the Mesoamerican salamander genus Oedipina." Journal of Herpetology, 2, 1-64. [link]

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2020). "Oedipina petiola (amended version of 2019 assessment)." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T51146806A176819122. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T51146806A176819122.en. Downloaded on 19 February 2021.

McCranie, J. R., Townsend, J. H. 2011. Description of a new species of worm salamander (Caudata, Plethodontidae, Oedipina) in the subgenus Oedopinola from the central portion of the Cordillera Nombre de Dios, Honduras. Zootaxa, 2990: 59-68.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Oedipina petiola <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7689> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Apr 16, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 16 Apr 2024.

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