Scientists find new amphibian species in Vietnam
Vietnamese scientists and their foreign colleagues have discovered a new amphibian species which is distributed mainly in northern Vietnam and Thailand.
The new species, Tylototriton anguliceps, belongs to the salamander family which consists of salamanders and newts.
According to a description on the popular amphibian forum Caudata.org, the species is distinguished from other congeners by a number of features including the bright to dark orange markings on the head, body, and tail, prominent dorsal and dorsolateral ridges on the head and unique mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.
The male is 6.1 to 6.3 centimeters long and the female between 6.5 and 7.4 centimeters.
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It has been found in Dien Bien and Son La Provinces in northwestern Vietnam and Thailand’s northernmost province of Chiang Rai, and is also expected in China, Laos and Myanmar.
The species is scientifically named Tylototriton anguliceps Le, Nguyen, Nishikawa, Nguyen, Pham, Matsui, Bernardes & Nguyen, 2015, after the names of the scientists from Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Hanoi Education University, Vietnam’s Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Germany’s University of Cologne, and Japan’s Kyoto University.