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 .

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

bookcover Excerpts from Les Urodèles du Monde, 1st and 2nd editions and more recent updates, by Jean Raffaëlli (©2007, ©2014 by Jean Raffaëlli), used with permission. The 2nd edition of this book is available directly from the author: jean.raffaelli@laposte.net and from this website.

Author: Jean Raffaëlli

Cryptotriton adelos (Papenfuss et Wake, 1987)

Le représentant le plus septentrional du genre et le seul au nord de l’Isthme de Tehuantepec, en sympatrie avec une espèce de Chiropterotriton. 2,1 cm SVL (4,6 cm). Queue plutôt courte, à peine plus grande que le reste du corps, région nasolabiale distincte chez le mâle, 26 dents sur les maxillaires, doigts et orteils petits et partiellement syndactyles. Parties dorsales brunes, avec une bande dorsale irrégulière rougeâtre plus claire que les parties latérales brun foncé, et deux lignes latérales courtes allant de la tête au 2^e sillon costal en passant au-dessus des membres antérieurs, bordées d’une ligne plus sombre. Parties ventrales brun clair mouchetées de crème. Parfois une paire de taches brunes sur les parties dorsales à chaque sillon costal. Broméliacées et autres épiphytes en forêt de brume, ainsi que dans les feuilles, sur le versant atlantique de la Sierra de Juarez et la Sierra de Mazateca entre Gueletao et Vista Hermosa, centre nord de l’Oaxaca (sud du Mexique), entre 1 530 et 2 050 m. Thorius et Pseudoeurycea présents dans cette zone (Voir plus haut). 23 km². EN. Rare.

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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 19 Apr 2024.

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