''Tylototriton himalayanus'' 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

Salamandridae Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough skin. Their skin is v ...

. It is known from the Ilam District in eastern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

(its type locality from where it was described in 2015),

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

in northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and western

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. It is one of the only two species of salamanders found in India (the other being ''

Tylototriton verrucosus ''Tylototriton verrucosus'' is a species of newt found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Common names include: Himalayan newt, crocodile newt, crocodile salamander, Himalayan salamander, red knobby newt. Description This newt can ...

'').

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

, and respectively and in total length. The head is bluntly oval with a blunt, flat snout. There are two distinct lines of dorsolateral bony ridges on the head, greatly separated from each other. The body has pairs of longitudinal lines of 16 knob-like dorsal warts. The tail is laterally compressed and with a well-developed fin fold. Coloration is dark to light brown dorsally, turning light brown dorsolaterally and creamy ventrally.

Habitat and conservation

''Tylototriton himalayanus'' occurs in subtropical hill forests near puddles, lakes, and rice paddies at elevations of

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 ...

. They breed in permanent and temporary ponds after heavy monsoon rains, starting in March or April. Outside the breeding season they are more terrestrial and hide under logs, bushes, and stones. As of mid 2021, this species has not been evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is probably suffering from populations declines caused by environment changes and anthropogenic disturbances such as the rapid disappearance of the Himalayan wetlands.

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25382658 himalayanus Amphibians of Bhutan Amphibians of India Amphibians of Nepal Amphibians described in 2015 Taxa named by Karthikeyan Vasudevan