Paramesotriton, also known as warty newts[1] or Asian warty newts,[2][3] is a genus of salamanders in the family Salamandridae.[1] The genus is found in southwestern and southern China and in northern Vietnam.[1][3] Most of the species are endemic to China, and the majority of them have been described recently, since 2008.[3] The genus includes both pond and stream dwellers.[4]

Paramesotriton
Paramesotriton hongkongensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Subfamily: Pleurodelinae
Genus: Paramesotriton
Chang, 1935
Type species
Mesotriton deloustali
Bourret, 1934
Species

14 species (see text)

Synonyms[1]
  • Mesotriton Bourret, 1934 — preoccupied by Mesotriton Bolkay, 1927
  • Trituroides Chang, 1935
  • Allomesotriton Freytag, 1983
  • Karstotriton Fei and Ye, 2016

Taxonomy and systematics

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The sister taxon of Paramesotriton is Laotriton. The genus may be divided into two species groups (subgenera), Paramesotriton and Allomesotriton.[1][3]

Description

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Paramesotriton have a dark brown dorsum[2] with a prominent vertebral ridge, often also a pair of lateral ridges. The tail is high and laterally compressed.[4] Skin texture varies from relatively smooth to very rough.[2] Paramesotriton hongkongensis has toxic skin and ova, as has been shown for many other salamanders.[5]

Species

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Paramesotriton contains the following 14 species:[1][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Paramesotriton Chang, 1935". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Yuan, Zhiyong; Zhao, Haipeng; Jiang, Ke; Hou, Mian; He, Lizhong; Murphy, Robert W. & Che, Jing (2014). "Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Paramesotriton (Caudata: Salamandridae) with the description of a new species from Qixiling Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, southeastern China and a key to the species". Asian Herpetological Research. 5 (2): 67–79. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1245.2014.00067.
  3. ^ a b c d Yuan, Zhiyong; Wu, Yunke; Zhou, Jiajun & Che, Jing (2016). "A new species of the genus Paramesotriton (Caudata: Salamandridae) from Fujian, southeastern China". Zootaxa. 4205 (6): 549–563. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4205.6.3. PMID 27988548.
  4. ^ a b Chan, Lauren M.; Zamudio, Kelly R. & Wake, David B. (2001). "Relationships of the salamandrid genera Paramesotriton, Pachytriton, and Cynops based on mitochondrial DNA sequences". Copeia. 2001 (4): 997–1009. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2001)001[0997:rotsgp]2.0.co;2.
  5. ^ Brodie, Edmund D.; Hensel, John L. & Johnson, Judith A. (1974). "Toxicity of the urodele amphibians Taricha, Notophthalmus, Cynops and Paramesotriton (Salamandridae)". Copeia. 1974 (2): 506–511. doi:10.2307/1442542. JSTOR 1442542.
  6. ^ "Salamandridae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
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