Description
Tylototriton umphangensis is a medium-sized salamander that was described from four males with a snout-vent length range of 65.6 - 75.3 mm. It has a truncated snout. There are prominent dorsolateral bony ridges that are steep, rough, narrow, and curve at the posterior and medial ends. There are distinct parotoid glands that curve upward on the posterior end in the lateral view and are oriented parallel to the body. A gular fold are present. The skin has fine granules that make it rough. It does not have any costal folds. It has 14 - 15, small, indistinct rib nodules, which are steeper in the anterior region, forming warts from axilla to tail. It has a prominent segmented vertebral ridge and dorsolateral ridges that are anteriorly steeper. The limbs are thin and long with the tips of the limbs overlapping when they are adpressed along the body towards each other (Pomchote et. al 2021). For more description, please see Pomchote et. al 2021.

DIAGNOSIS

Tylototriton umphangensis is most morphologically similar to T. uynoi, but the two species can be differentiated by very subtle characters. Tylototriton umphangensis is larger in size and has darker coloration in both life and preservative. Additionally, in T. umphangensis, the snout is more truncated and does not extend much beyond the jaw (vs. rounded to blunt and distinctly projected); the dorsolateral ridges are rougher, steeper, and curved; the vertebral ridge is more distinctly segmented; and the rib nodules are indistinct and small (vs. isolated, rounded, distinct, but small). From other species in the subgenus Tylototriton, the orange-brown markings of T. umphangensis differentiate it from T. taliangesis, and specifically its orange-brown parotoids separate it from T. yangi and its orange-brown public region separate it from T. kachinorum, T. pulcherrimus, and T. shanjing. Tylototriton umphangensis’ truncated snout differentiates it from T. ngarsuensis. The presence of a sagittal ridge on the head in T. umphangensis differentiate it from T. anguliceps, T. podichthys and T. phukhaensis, while the presence of steep, bony dorsolateral ridges on the head of T. umphangensis differentiate it from T. anguliceps, T. shanorum and T. verrucosus. Separated rib nodules differentiates T. umphangensis from T. kweichowensis and T. pseudoverrucosus. A narrow vertebral ridge in T. umphangensis differentiates it from T. panwaensis. Lastly, the absence of basal tail grooves in T. umphangensis differentiate it from T. himalayanus (Pomchote et. al 2021).

COLORATION:

In life, the body and limbs have background colors that range from dark brown to blackish-brown, with its ventral coloration slightly lighter than its dorsal coloration. Its head, vertebral ridge, limbs, vent, and tail have orange coloring, with the tip of the tail being lighter than the rest of the dorsals side of the tail. The ventral edge of its tail is lightest, connecting to the lighter coloration in the vent area. In preservative, the species’ coloring is similar (Pomchote et. al 2021).

VARIATION

The species’ dorsolateral bony ridges can vary in texture. Its sagittal ridge can vary in prominence and size. Its color does not vary much, but some specimens may be lighter. Its digits can vary from dark brown to black (Pomchote et. al 2021).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Thailand

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Tylototriton umphangensis is found in the evergreen hill forests of Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, Tak Province in western Thailand. The species also likely occurs in other parts of western Thailand and in eastern Myanmar in the Dawna Range. It prefers medium to high elevations at temperatures between 15 - 24 ^oC (Pomchote et. al 2021).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Tylototriton umphangensis is terrestrial, apart from the breeding season. High annual rainfall is beneficial to this species and monsoon season is ideal for breeding. Specimens were found during the breeding rainy season during the day in a small ephemeral pond, either under leaf litter or between the stems of arrowroot plants (family Marantaceae) (Pomchote et. al 2021).

Trends and Threats
At the time of the species description, the threats had not been fully assessed but the species was given a recommended threat status of “Endangered” as anthropogenic activities are obvious. For instance, local roaming cattle may cause damage to the forests and breeding sites the newts utilize (Pomchote et. al 2021).

Relation to Humans
Newts in this genus have been harvested by humans (Pomchote et. al 2021).

Comments

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS

Bayesian Inference of partial ND2 found that T. umphangensis is sister to T. uyenoi. The next most closely related clade is composed of T. anguliceps and T. phukhaensis (Pomchote et. al 2021).

ETYMOLOGY

The specific epithet, “umphangensis,” is a reference where the species is found, in the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary (Pomchote et. al 2021).

References

Pomchote, P., Peerachidacho, P., Hernandez, A., Sapewisut, P., Khonsue, W., Thammachoti, P., Nishikawa, K. (2021). “A new species of the genus Tylototriton (Urodela, Salamandridae) from western Thailand.” ZooKeys 1072, 83-105 [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Tylototriton umphangensis: Umphang Crocodile Newt <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9474> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Mar 26, 2023.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2023. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Mar 2023.

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