''Pseudoeurycea aurantia'', commonly known as Peña Verde 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. 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 ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

, Mexico and only known from its type locality near Peña Verde, which is the northernmost high peak in the Sierra de Juárez.

Description

Two males in 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 ...

measured about in snout–vent length and eight females in snout–vent length. The habitus is relatively robust. The head is relatively broad. The snout is broadly rounded but more truncate in males than in females. The limbs are relatively long, with well-developed hands and feet with comparatively long and slender digits. The dorsal ground color is reddish brown, grading to pale yellow ventrally. There is a broad and conspicuous orange mid-dorsal stripe that runs from the scapular region to the tip of the tail; in the head region, this dorsal stripe is broken into darker flecks. There are bright yellow spots all over the dorsum but they are more concentrated on the tail. The underside of the body and tail is uniform pale yellow, without spots.

Habitat and conservation

''Pseudoeurycea aurantia'' occur in pine cloud forests and in barren open lands at higher altitudes; the altitudinal range is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It has been found under rocks, the bark of logs, and in or under decaying wood. Reproduction is through direct development; one female was found guarding a clutch of 22 eggs under the bark of a log. The species is extremely common within its small range. However, there are threats to its habitat from forest fires, timber extraction, and small-scale farming, which keeps moving uphill. The

IUCN SSC The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natura ...

Amphibian Specialist Group underscores that habitat protection is urgently required for this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2211593 aurantia Endemic amphibians of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Amphibians described in 2003 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot