Bolitoglossa is a genus of lungless salamanders, also called mushroom-tongued salamanders,[1]tropical climbing salamanders,[2] or web-footed salamanders,[3] in the family Plethodontidae.[1][4] Their range is between northern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, northeastern Brazil, and central Bolivia.[1] Neotropical salamanders of the Bolitoglossa make up the largest genus in the order Caudata,[5] consisting of approximately one-fifth of all known species of salamanders.[1] Adult salamanders range anywhere from 45mm to 200mm in length depending on their specific species.[6] They are notorious for their ability to project their tongue at prey items, as indicated from their name. They are also known for their webbed feet, having significantly more webbing than any other species outside their genus with the exception of the cave-dwelling Mexican bolitoglossine Chiropterotriton magnipes.[7] Although webbed feet are a common characteristic of these salamanders, only about half of the species in this genus contain webbed feet.[6]
Characteristics
Hand and foot morphology
Hand and foot morphology is strikingly diverse in an otherwise morphologically uniform group. While just under half of these species contain webbing between their fingers and toes, the remaining species experience little to no webbing and undergo elongation of their fingers and toes throughout development. Ultimately, the variation of foot morphology within this genus is primarily due to natural selection. Derived characteristics correspond to arboreal vs. terrestrial salamanders.[7]
Webbed fingers – natural selection to improve terrestrial movement through water.
Elongated fingers – natural selection of increased suction efficiency, favoring a larger surface area of the foot. This also selects for a decreased body size, enabling the salamander to cling trees more easily.
Tail autotomy
Tail autotomy refers to the salamanders' ability to release or lose their tail if necessary. This is a common characteristic of nearly all salamanders and lizards. (See autotomy). It is particularly helpful to the salamander in escaping attacks from its predators. Once the tail has been lost, it can regenerate one time. After this regeneration, the tail is incapable of separation with regeneration.[8]
Poison
Bolitoglossa rostrata and B. subpalmata are two rare examples of poisonous salamanders within their genus. The poison is secreted through their skin as an antipredator mechanism. It is particularly toxic to certain snake species, rendering them immobile and unresponsive to external stimuli upon initial contact. The common defense tactic of these two species is to remain still in the presence of the snake until it makes initial contact (usually by the flickering of its tongue), and then run away as the paralytic poison begins to take effect in the snake.[9]
Evolution
Natural selection
Tropical adaptation of the Bolitoglossa is thought to have evolved from North American plethodontids. Natural selection is responsible for morphological changes shifting from those supporting temperate environments to those supporting tropical environments such as Panama and Costa Rica.[10] Natural selection is thought to have resulted in genetic changes from physical adaptation. The main differences that have developed from natural selection affect the skull and bones of the feet in these salamanders. Due to these primary changes, secondary changes are believed to have followed, including:
Phylogeny of this genus is partially dependent on its variations in bone structure due to the effects of natural selection over a long period of time.[11]
Hybridization
The first documented case of hybridization in tropical salamanders occurred between B. frankini and B. resplendens. This hybridization has taken a pervasive effect on the morphology of B. resplendens, whereas B. frankini seemed to maintain its same physical structure.[12]
Taxonomy
Broadfoot Mushroomtongue Salamander (Bolitoglossa platydactyla), Municipality of Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico (11 July 2005).
Derived characteristics of the genus Bolitoglossa has led to their classification based on this specific list of characters:
Classification of this genus is primarily accomplished through analysis of the salamanders' DNA. This has proven to be the most effective and accurate way of classifying this genus.[5]
Species
As of January 2024, there are 140 recognised species assigned to this genus.[1][4][13]
Binomial Name and author
Common name
B. "altamazonica" Cusi, Gagliardi-Urrutia, Brcko, Wake, and von May, 2020
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela from the group Caudata. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.
Autotomy or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals have the ability to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy has multiple evolutionary origins and is thought to have evolved at least nine times independently in animals. The term was coined in 1883 by Leon Fredericq.
Bolitoglossa borburata is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is also known as the Carabobo mushroomtongue.
Bolitoglossa engelhardti is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found in the extreme south-eastern Chiapas, Mexico, and eastward along the Pacific versant to Volcán Atitlán in south-western Guatemala. It is named for Teodoro Engelhardt, Guatemalan plantation owner who entertained Karl Patterson Schmidt and his expedition. Its common names include Engelhardt's salamander, Engelhardt's mushroomtongue salamander, and Engelhardt's climbing salamander.
The Guaramacal salamander, also known as the holy-mountain salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela. The Venezuelan specimen first reported as Bolitoglossa savagei likely represents this species. The species is named after its type locality, Guaramacal in the Trujillo.
Bolitoglossa porrasorum is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the mountains of north-central Honduras. Common name Pijol salamander has been proposed for this species in reference to its type locality, Pico Pijol. The specific name porrasorum honors of Jorge Porras Ziuniga and Jorge Porras Orellana, father and son, who provided friendship and assistance to the describers of this species.
The northern banana salamander, also known as common dwarf salamander or rufescent salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found in the Atlantic slopes of Meso-America from San Luis Potosi, Veracruz, and northern Chiapas in Mexico continuing on to the southern part of Guatemala, Belize, and northern Honduras. However, its range south of Mexico is uncertain because the records may refer to other species.
Savage's salamander, also known as Savage's mushroomtongue salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. The record from Venezuela represents another species, likely Bolitoglossa guaramacalensis. The species is named after Jay M. Savage, an American herpetologist.
The La Palma salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found in Costa Rica and western Panama.
Chiropterotriton, also known as splayfoot salamanders or flat-footed salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. The genus is endemic to Mexico.
Cryptotriton monzoni is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala and known only from near its type locality, Cerro del Mono near La Unión, Zacapa Department. The specific name monzoni honors José Monzón, a Guatemalan entomologist who helped the authors with the fieldwork. Common name Monzon's hidden salamander has been coined for it.
The seepage salamander is a small, terrestrial species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. They are found in small areas of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It gets its name from the seepages around which it lives. It is very similar in its appearance and life history to the pygmy salamander. These two species differ greatly from the other Desmognathus species. They are the smallest salamanders in the genus, measuring only 3–5 cm (1–2 in) in length. They are also the only two terrestrial, direct-developing Desmognathus species. However, the two species are not often seen to coexist, differing in distribution by elevation; although there are exceptions. The seepage salamander is currently listed as Near Threatened, with its numbers declining in most of states in which it is found. It is threatened by habitat loss, with logging having a major effect.
Speleomantes, or European cave salamanders, are a genus of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders. It is one of two genera in the family to inhabit the Old World, with the remaining 250 or so species being found in North, Central and South America. The genus is endemic to Italy and a few nearby areas.
Thorius, also known as minute salamanders, pigmy salamanders, or Mexican pigmy salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to Mexico and found in southern Veracruz and Puebla to Guerrero and Oaxaca.
Bolitoglossa psephena is a lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala and only known from its type locality, Finca Santa Elena near Chimaltenango. The specific name is derived from the Greek psephena, meaning dark or obscure, and refers to the uniformly dark coloration of this small salamander.
Bolitoglossa cataguana, also known as the Cataguana salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Honduras and known from near Cataguana in the Marale municipality, Francisco Morazán Department.
Isthmura is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to Mexico. The genus, which corresponds to the former "Pseudoeurycea bellii species group" and was first described as a subgenus of Pseudoeurycea, was raised to full generic level in 2015 in order to preserve Ixalotriton and Bolitoglossa while avoiding paraphyly of Pseudoeurycea.
The spotted dusky salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States.
The Chiriquí fire salamander, known as "Salamandra de fuego chiricana" in native Spanish, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found exclusively in Panama and is endemic to the western highlands of Chiriquí Province. Like many Central American endemic species, it is threatened by habitat loss.
↑ Ducey, Peter K.; Brodie, Edmund D. (1983). "Salamanders respond selectively to contacts with snakes: survival advantage of alternative antipredator strategies". Copeia. 1983 (4): 1036–1041. doi:10.2307/1445106. JSTOR1445106.
↑ Brodie, Edmund D. Jr.; Ducey, Peter K.; Baness, Elizabeth A. (1991). "Antipredator skin secretions of some tropical salamanders (Bolitoglossa) are toxic to snake predators". Biotropica. 23 (1): 58–62. doi:10.2307/2388688. JSTOR2388688.
↑ Ortega, Jesús E.; Monares-Riaño, John Maury; Ramírez-Pinilla, Martha Patricia (2009). "Reproductive activity, diet, and microhabitat use in Bolitoglossa nicefori (Caudata: Plethodontidae)". Journal of Herpetology. 43 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1670/07-250R2.1. JSTOR25599180. S2CID83945415.
↑ Wake, David B.; Yang, Suh Y.; Papenfuss, Theodore J. (1980). "Natural hybridization and its evolutionary implications in Guatemalan plethodontid salamanders of the genus Bolitoglossa". Herpetologica. 36 (4): 335–345. JSTOR3891875.
↑ "Bolitoglossa". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2008. Berkeley, California: Bolitoglossa. AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: 29 July 2008).
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