| Ixalotriton niger | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Ixalotriton |
| Species: | I. niger |
| Binomial name | |
| Ixalotriton niger Wake & Johnson, 1989 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ixalotriton niger, the black jumping salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rocky areas and it is threatened by habitat loss.
Ixalotriton niger is a long, slender salamander with a wide head, protuberant eyes, long limbs, large hands and feet and a long, gradually tapering tail. It grows to a total length of nearly 6 centimetres (2.4 in) and is a glossy black colour. At night it changes to a chocolate brown colour. The snout may have a small white patch and the tips or the toes are red, perhaps because of an absence of pigment allowing the vascular tissue below to show through. [2]
Ixalotriton niger is found at about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level on the Atlantic side of the Northern Highland Mountains in Chiapas State in south west Mexico. [2] The area where it is endemic is composed of fissured limestone crags clothed in an evergreen forest rich in epiphytes including mosses, ferns, bromeliads, philodendrons and orchids. [2]
Ixalotriton niger is an arboreal species that was first described in 1989. It is an elusive species and scrambles around on the trunks of trees and is capable of jumping in a lizard-like manner when disturbed. It readily autotomizes its tail to escape predators and can also produce a noxious sticky secretion from glands. [2] [3]
There is no aquatic larval stage and the young develop directly inside the egg. [2]
Ixalotriton niger is considered "Endangered" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [4] This is because its range is only about 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) and the forest where it lives is being disturbed by logging. It was believed to be extinct, but in 2000 ten specimens were located. It was surveyed again in 2006 and 2007 and on both occasions, no specimens were found. However, the nights were wet and the salamanders may have moved higher into the canopy. [1]
Bradytriton is a monotypic genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. it is represented by the species Bradytriton silus, commonly known as the Finca Chiblac salamander, and has been considered the sister taxon of the genus Oedipina. It is found in north-western Guatemala and in Chiapas, south-eastern Mexico.
Álvarez del Toro's hidden salamander, also known as Álvarez del Toro's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico where it is known from its type locality near Jitotol as well as a nearby site on the Mexican Plateau in the Chiapas state.
Dendrotriton megarhinus, also known as the longnose bromeliad salamander or long-nosed bromeliad salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to southwestern Chiapas, Mexico, where it is only known from the Cerro Tres Picos, the type locality.
Ixalotriton parva, the dwarf false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to a small mountainous area of Mexico where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. There is some doubt whether this species should be classified as Pseudoeurycea parva or Ixalotriton parva.
Pseudoeurycea orchileucos, commonly known as the Sierra de Juárez worm salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, where it is known from the northern slopes of Sierra de Juarez at elevations of 800–1,390 m (2,620–4,560 ft) above sea level.
Oedipina maritima, commonly known as the maritime worm salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama.
Pseudoeurycea anitae, commonly known as Anita's false brook salamander or Anita's salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from its type locality near San Vicente Lachixío, Oaxaca, in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, at about 2,100 m (6,900 ft) above sea level. The specific name anitae honors Anita Smith, a resident of Oaxaca City who helped Charles Mitchill Bogert when he was collecting in the surroundings of the city. This species might already be extinct.
Pseudoeurycea aurantia, commonly known as Peña Verde salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico and only known from its type locality near Peña Verde, which is the northernmost high peak in the Sierra de Juárez.
Pseudoeurycea conanti is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico.
Pseudoeurycea lynchi, commonly known as the Veracruz green salamander, is a species of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the central Sierra Madre Oriental in Veracruz and Puebla states, Mexico.
Pseudoeurycea melanomolga, commonly known as the black false brook salamander or black salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and known from the surroundings of the Cofre de Perote in west-central Veracruz as well as from two localities in the adjacent northeast Puebla.
The ridge tail salamander, also known as ridge-tailed salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, and only known from the area of its type locality.
The muscular salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
Aquiloeurycea praecellens, also known as the admirable false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental in Veracruz, Mexico. Its natural habitat is lowland tropical moist forest where it is threatened by habitat loss.
Pseudoeurycea robertsi is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from the Nevado de Toluca, near Toluca in the State of Mexico. Its common name is Roberts' false brook salamander. The specific name robertsi honors the collector of the holotype, Mr. Radclyffe Roberts from the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences.
Pseudoeurycea smithi, commonly known as Smith's false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to certain mountainous regions of Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Pseudoeurycea werleri is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. Its common name is Werler's false brook salamander or simply Werler's salamander. It is endemic to the Sierra de los Tuxtlas range in southern Veracruz state, Mexico. Its natural habitats are tropical rainforests and cloud forests where it lives in moss mats. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by subsistence agriculture, logging, and human settlement.
Thorius insperatus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico. The holotype was collected near Vista Hermosa, at 1,500 m (4,900 ft) asl. The specimen was collected under a log in forest. A second specimen was collected in 1998. The species is threatened by habitat loss caused by logging and expanding agriculture.
Thorius minydemus, commonly known as the La Hoya minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from near its type locality near La Joya, Veracruz. Its natural habitats are cloud and pine-oak forests with many bromeliads.
Thorius pennatulus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae and one of the smallest tetrapods, with adults reaching a length of about 15 to 21 millimetres . It is endemic to the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico.
