Chiropterotriton multidentatus
| Kingdom |
Phylum |
Class |
Order |
Family |
| ANIMALIA |
CHORDATA |
AMPHIBIA |
CAUDATA |
PLETHODONTIDAE |
| Scientific Name: |
Chiropterotriton multidentatus |
| Species Authority: |
(Taylor, 1938) |
| Taxonomic Notes: |
Darda (1994) split this species into two, but did not provide a formal name for the southernmost population (in Hidalgo State). In this account we treat all four known populations as Chiropterotriton multidentatus, pending the formal description of the southernmost population. |
Assessment Information
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| Red List Category & Criteria: |
Endangered
B1ab(iii,v)
ver 3.1
|
| Year Published: |
2004 |
| Assessor/s: |
Gabriela Parra-Olea, David Wake, Jean Raffaelli |
| Reviewer/s: |
Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young) |
| Contributor/s: |
|
Justification:
Listed as Endangered because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 5,000 km2, its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, and in the number of mature individuals.
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Geographic Range
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| Range Description: |
This species occurs in southern San Luis Potosi, southern Tamaulipas, and southern Hidalgo, Mexico, at 2,000-2,900m asl. The Hidalgo population might belong to an undescribed species. |
| Countries: |
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| Range Map: |
Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
Population
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| Population: |
It used to be abundant in Parque Nacional El Chico (Hidalgo), but in the early 1980s it largely disappeared, although a few individuals have been found there in recent years. It can no longer be found at its type locality in San Luis Potosi.
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| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
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Habitat and Ecology
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| Habitat and Ecology: |
It lives in pine and pine-oak forests, only in undisturbed habitat, where it lives in arboreal bromeliads (and is also a crevice-dweller). It breeds by direct development and is not dependent upon water.
|
| Systems: |
Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): |
The cause of its decline is not clear, although it could be very sensitive to even minor modifications of its forest habitat. Most of the forests where this species has been recorded have been severely transformed by agricultural activities and logging. Declines that have taken place in suitable habitat could be the result of other threats such as climate change or disease (possibly chytridiomycosis, although this normally impacts species that are associated with water).
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Conservation Actions
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| Conservation Actions: |
It is recorded from Parque Nacional El Chico (where it is now extremely rare, but these records might refer to a different species) and from the Reserva de la Biósfera El Cielo (where it is also very rare). Further research is necessary to understand the reasons for the decline of this species in suitable habitat. It is protected by Mexican law under the "Special Protection" category (Pr).
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