''Parvimolge'' is a genus 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 ...

s 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 ...

, the lungless salamanders. It is currently considered as

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, although this may yet change as molecular data suggest that it is embedded within a

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

Pseudoeurycea ''Pseudoeurycea'' is a genus of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The members of this genus are commonly known as the false brook salamanders. They are found in Mexico and Guatemala. In order to preserve ''Ixalotriton'' and ''Bolitoglossa ...

''. ''Parvimolge townsendi'' 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 the northern

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Geography The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a southeas ...

in central and southern

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, Mexico, between 900 and 1900 meters elevation. It is represented by the species ''Parvimolge townsendi'', commonly known as Townsend's dwarf salamander.

Habitat and conservation

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 ...

s of ''Parvimolge townsendi'' are cloud and oak forests. They are usually found living in

bromeliad 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, ...

s or on the ground. They are somewhat adaptable and can survive in shaded coffee plantations as long as humidity levels are maintained. ''Parvimolge townsendi'' has never been common, but it has undergone significant population declines. It has only been observed once since 1997, despite efforts to locate it. 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 ...

, but more information on the reasons for the decline of this species is needed. ''Parvimolge townsendi'' was once considered abundant, however ''

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' ( ), also known as ''Bd'' or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians. Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian popul ...

'', a

chytrid fungus Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytrids ...

, infected this species' geographic range about 40 years ago, devastating many amphibian populations, including Townsend's dwarf salamander (Sandoval-Comte, 2012).Sandoval-Comte, A., Pineda, E., Aguilar-López, J.L. 2012. In Search of Critically Endangered Species: The Current Situation of Two Tiny Salamanders Species in the Neotropical Mountains of Mexico. PLoS One, 7(4):e34023. The IUCN has even labeled this species as 'possibly extinct,' under geographic range because it has only been spotted once since 1997. However, surveys throughout the 2010s found it to be present in most areas, and even moderately abundant in some places.

References

External links

* AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. 2008. Berkeley, California
''Parvimolge''
AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: August 1, 2008). Plethodontidae Amphibians described in 1922 Endemic amphibians of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Taxa named by Emmett Reid Dunn Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Monotypic amphibian genera {{Plethodontidae-stub