The Wenxian knobby newt or Wenxian knobby salamander (''Tylototriton wenxianensis'') 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 t ...

in the family Salamandridae. 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 else ...

to central China (southern Gansu and adjacent northern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, isolated records from

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, and

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

provinces). Its type locality is Wen County in Gansu, or in , hence the name.

Description

''Tylototriton wenxianensis'' is a medium-sized representative of ''Tylototriton''. It is dorsally entirely black, and ventrally brownish black. Tips of digits and lower tail margin are orange Skin is rough. Head is flat and oval. Tail is laterally compressed and shorter than snout–vent length.

Habitat and conservation

''Tylototriton wenxianensis'' inhabits forests near streams and pools in hilly areas, hiding under rocks. Eggs are laid on land or between water and land; the larvae develop in water. 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 ...

and degradation due to farming and subsistence wood collection.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1946204 Tylototriton Amphibians of China Endemic fauna of China Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1984