Lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) are distinguished from other families of salamanders by the following traits:
- No lungs. They conduct respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouths.
- Frequently no aquatic larval stage. In many species eggs are laid on land and young hatch already possessing an adult body form.
- Naso-labial groove. A slit lined with glands between the nostril and upper lip, used for chemoreception.
Measured in individual numbers, they are very successful tetrapods in areas where they occur. Some places they make up the dominant biomass of vertebrates. Due to their modest size and low metabolism, they are able to feed on prey such as collembola, which is usually too small for other terrestrial vertebrates, which gives them a whole ecological niche for themselves they can specialize in without competition from other groups.
Taxonomy
Plethodontidae includes many genera grouped under two subfamilies. Nearly four hundred species of plethodontid salamanders are known, making up the majority of known species [1]. Only two of these species are found outside the Western hemisphere.
The family Plethodontidae consists of 4 subfamilies and about 380 species divided among the following genera:
| Subfamily |
Genus Scientific Name and Author |
Genus Common name |
Species |
Bolitoglossinae
Hallowell, 1856 |
| Batrachoseps Bonaparte, 1839 |
Slender salamanders |
19
|
| Bolitoglossa Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 |
Tropical climbing salamanders |
96
|
| Bradytriton Wake & Elias, 1983 |
Finca Chiblac salamander |
1
|
| Chiropterotriton Taylor, 1944 |
Splay-foot salamanders |
12
|
| Cryptotriton García-París & Wake, 2000 |
Hidden salamanders |
6
|
| Dendrotriton Wake & Elias, 1983 |
Bromeliad salamanders |
6
|
| Nototriton Wake & Elias, 1983 |
Moss salamanders |
13
|
| Nyctanolis Elias & Wake, 1983 |
Long-limbed salamanders |
1
|
| Oedipina Keferstein, 1868 |
Worm salamanders |
25
|
| Parvimolge Taylor, 1944 |
Tropical dwarf salamanders |
1
|
| Pseudoeurycea Taylor, 1944 |
False brook salamanders |
50
|
| Thorius Cope, 1869 |
Minute salamanders |
23
|
Hemidactyliinae
Hallowell, 1856 |
Hemidactylium Tschudi, 1838 |
Four-toed salamander |
1
|
Plethodontinae
Gray, 1850 |
Aneides Baird, 1851 |
Climbing salamanders |
6
|
| Atylodes Gistel, 1868 |
Sardinian Cave Salamander |
1
|
| Desmognathus Baird, 1850 |
Dusky salamanders |
20
|
| Ensatina Gray, 1850 |
Ensatinas |
1
|
| Hydromantes Gistel, 1848 |
Web-toed & European cave sals |
3
|
| Karsenia Min, Yang, Bonett, Vieites, Brandon & Wake, 2005 |
Korean crevice salamanders |
1
|
| Phaeognathus Highton, 1961 |
Red Hills salamanders |
1
|
| Plethodon Tschudi, 1838 |
Slimy & mountain salamanders |
55
|
| Speleomantes Dubois, 1984 |
Cave Salamanders |
7
|
Spelerpinae
Cope, 1859 |
Eurycea Rafinesque, 1822 |
North American brook salamanders |
27
|
| Gyrinophilus Cope, 1869 |
Spring salamanders |
4
|
| Pseudotriton Tschudi, 1838 |
Mud and red salamanders |
3
|
| Stereochilus Cope, 1869 |
Many-lined salamanders |
1
|
Following a major revision in 2006 the genus Haideotriton was found to be a synonym of Eurycea while the genera Ixalotriton and Lineatriton were made synonyms of Pseudoeurycea.[2]
References
- ^ Min, M.S., S. Y. Yang, R. M. Bonett, D. R. Vieites, R. A. Brandon & D. B. Wake. (2005). Discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander. Nature (435), 87-90 (5 May 2005)
- ^ Frost et al. 2006. THE AMPHIBIAN TREE OF LIFE (http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5781/1/B297.pdf)
External links
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