''Oedipina maritima'', commonly known as the maritime worm 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 ...

Isla Escudo de Veraguas Isla Escudo de Veraguas is a small (4.3 km2) isolated Caribbean island of the Republic of Panama. Despite its name, it is not part of the province of Veraguas, but rather Bocas del Toro. Although located only 17 km from the coastline ...

, Panama.

Description

''Oedipina maritima'' is a small salamander species: males grow to a snout–vent length (SVL) of and females to . The head is small and narrow, and the body is slender, with tail longer than SVL. The clutch size is about six eggs. They have

direct development Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before metam ...

: eggs hatch into juveniles that measure about in total length, still retaining their gills.

Range and habitat

This species is known only from

Bocas del Toro Province Bocas del Toro (; meaning "Mouth of the Bull") is a province of Panama. Its area is 4,643.9 square kilometers, comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante (Almirante Bay ...

, Panama. If it is restricted to this island (there is a juvenile specimen from the mainland that may belong to this species), it is the only tropical salamander that is endemic to an island. It is found close to sea level in humid lowland forest and mangrove forest. The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was found in decaying fronds and associated moist litter near a fallen palm in a coconut palm grove. 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 ...

(forest clearance).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2212055 maritima Amphibians of Panama Endemic fauna of Panama Taxa named by David B. Wake Amphibians described in 2000 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot