Biology:Graceful splayfoot salamander

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Short description: Species of amphibian

Graceful splayfoot salamander
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Chiropterotriton
Species:
C. cracens
Binomial name
Chiropterotriton cracens
Rabb, 1958[2]
Synonyms
  • Chiropterotriton chondrostega cracens Rabb, 1958

The graceful splayfoot salamander (Chiropterotriton cracens), also known as the graceful flat-footed salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the state of Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Its type locality is near Gómez Farías, Tamaulipas.[3]

Description

Chiropterotriton cracens is a small, slender salamander. Adults measure 24–31 mm (0.94–1.22 in) in snout–vent length. The tail is long, maximally 1.5 times the snout-vent length. Limbs are well developed; hind legs are slightly longer than forelegs. Dorsal colour is light brown, sides are slightly darker.[2]

Females collected in summer had more and smaller eggs than those collected in spring when eggs were quite large, 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in), but few in number (3-5 per side). Juveniles (12–14 mm (0.47–0.55 in) body length) have been collected in May and August.[2]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitat are cloud forests between 1000 and 2000 meters elevation, where it lives in bromeliads.[1]

Chiropterotriton cracens only known from the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, a protected area. Despite this, Chiropterotriton cracens has declined. The reasons for this decline are unknown but could relate to climate change or disease (e.g. chytridiomycosis).[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Chiropterotriton cracens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T59224A53978189. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T59224A53978189.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59224/53978189. Retrieved 16 November 2021. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rabb, G. B. (1958). "On certain Mexican salamanders of the plethodontid genus Chiropterotriton". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 587: 1–37. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57025/1/OP587.pdf#page=28. 
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Chiropterotriton cracens Rabb, 1958". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Caudata/Plethodontidae/Hemidactyliinae/Chiropterotriton/Chiropterotriton-cracens. 

Wikidata ☰ Q2246706 entry