Discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander.
Nature
; 435(7038): 87-90, 2005 May 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-15875021
Nearly 70% of the 535 species of salamanders in the world are members of a single family, the Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders. The centre of diversity for this clade is North and Middle America, where the vast majority (99%) of species are found. We report the discovery of the first Asian plethodontid salamander, from montane woodlands in southwestern Korea. The new species superficially resembles members of North American genera, in particular the morphologically conservative genus Plethodon. However, phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear encoded gene Rag-1 shows the new taxon to be widely divergent from Plethodon. The new salamander differs osteologically from putative relatives, especially with respect to the tongue (attached protrusible) and the derived tarsus. We place the species in a new genus on the basis of the morphological and molecular data. The distribution of the new salamander adds to the enigma of Old World plethodontids, which are otherwise restricted to the western Mediterranean region, suggesting a more extensive past distribution of the family.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Filogenia
/
Urodelos
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nature
Año:
2005
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Corea del Sur
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido