''Ixalotriton parva'', the dwarf false brook salamander, is a species of

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

in the family

Plethodontidae Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to a small mountainous area of Mexico where its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. There is some doubt whether this species should be classified as ''Pseudoeurycea parva'' or ''Ixalotriton parva''.

Description

The dwarf false brook salamander is small with a broad head, small nostrils, protruding eyes and slender body. It grows to a length of about , half of which is the tail. It is a greyish-brown colour with a pale brown stripe running along the ridge of the back and a few whitish spots on the tail, which is prehensile. In appearance it is very similar to '' Pseudoeurycea praecellens''.

Distribution and habitat

The dwarf false brook salamander is endemic to the Cerro Baul Mountains in the eastern part of

Oaxaca State ) , population_note = , population_rank = 10th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type = Postal ...

, Mexico at an altitude of about above sea level. It lives in virgin

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

and does not flourish after forestry operations have caused disturbance. It is a terrestrial species and is usually found in the water that collects in the centre of

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

Biology

The dwarf false brook salamander has been little studied but the female is believed to lay several eggs in a concealed site at the beginning of the dry season. She then guards the eggs until they hatch into juvenile salamanders at the start of the rainy season, bypassing the aqueous larval stage.

Status

The dwarf false brook salamander is considered " Critically Endangered" in the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. This is because its range is only about and the forest where it lives is being disturbed by logging. It was last surveyed in 2007 and on that occasion, a single specimen was found.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1594121 Ixalotriton Endemic amphibians of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN