''Bolitoglossa'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of lungless

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 ...

s, commonly called mushroom-tongued salamanders, tropical climbing salamanders, and web-footed salamanders, in the family

Plethodontidae Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. With over 500 species, lungless salamanders are by far the largest family of salamanders in terms of their diversity. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from B ...

. Their combined geographic ranges extend from northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

through

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, northeastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and central

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. Neotropical salamanders of the genus ''Bolitoglossa'' make up the largest genus in the order

Caudata The Caudata are a group of amphibians containing the extant salamanders (the order Urodela) and all extinct species of amphibians more closely related to salamanders than to frogs. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-lik ...

, consisting of approximately one-fifth of all known species of salamanders. Adult salamanders of the genus ''Bolitoglossa'' have a snout-to-vent length in the range of depending on the particular species. They are known for the ability to project the tongue to seize prey items. They are also known for webbed feet, having significantly more webbing than any other species outside their genus with the exception of the cave-dwelling Mexican bolitoglossine ''

Chiropterotriton magnipes ''Chiropterotriton'', also known as splayfoot salamanders or flat-footed salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. The genus is endemic to Mexico. ''Chiropterotriton'' are widely distributed in northern and eastern Mex ...

''. Although webbed feet are a common characteristic of these salamanders, only about half of the species in this genus contain webbed feet.

Characteristics

Hand and foot morphology

Hand and foot morphology is strikingly diverse in an otherwise morphologically uniform group. While just under half of these species contain webbing between their fingers and toes, the remaining species experience little to no webbing and undergo elongation of their fingers and toes throughout development. Ultimately, the variation of foot morphology within this genus is primarily due to natural selection. Derived characteristics correspond to arboreal vs. terrestrial salamanders. *Webbed fingers – natural selection to improve terrestrial movement through water. *Elongated fingers – natural selection of increased suction efficiency, favoring a larger surface area of the foot. This also selects for a decreased body size, enabling the salamander to cling trees more easily.

Tail autotomy

Tail autotomy refers to the salamanders' ability to release or lose their tail if necessary. This is a common characteristic of nearly all salamanders and lizards. (See

autotomy Autotomy (from the Greek ''auto-'', "self-" and ''tome'', "severing", αὐτοτομία) or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp ...

). It is particularly helpful to the salamander in escaping attacks from its predators. Once the tail has been lost, it can regenerate one time. After this regeneration, the tail is incapable of separation with regeneration.

Poison

''Bolitoglossa rostrata'' and ''B. subpalmata'' are two rare examples of poisonous salamanders within their genus. The poison is secreted through their skin as an antipredator mechanism. It is particularly toxic to certain snake species, rendering them immobile and unresponsive to external stimuli upon initial contact. The common defense tactic of these two species is to remain still in the presence of the snake until it makes initial contact (usually by the flickering of its tongue), and then run away as the paralytic poison begins to take effect in the snake.

Evolution

Natural selection

Tropical adaptation of the ''Bolitoglossa'' is thought to have evolved from North American plethodontids. Natural selection is responsible for morphological changes shifting from those supporting temperate environments to those supporting tropical environments such as Panama and Costa Rica. Natural selection is thought to have resulted in genetic changes from physical adaptation. The main differences that have developed from natural selection affect the skull and bones of the feet in these salamanders. Due to these primary changes, secondary changes are believed to have followed, including: *Body size *Additional

ossification Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes resulting in t ...

of bones *Webbing *Ear structure

Phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

of this genus is partially dependent on its variations in bone structure due to the effects of natural selection over a long period of time.

Hybridization

The first documented case of

hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

in tropical salamanders occurred between ''B. frankini'' and ''B. resplendens''. This hybridization has taken a pervasive effect on the morphology of ''B. resplendens'', whereas ''B. frankini'' seemed to maintain its same physical structure.

Taxonomy

Derived characteristics of the genus ''Bolitoglossa'' has led to their classification based on this specific list of characters: *Tongue and hypobranchial

apparatus Apparatus may refer to: *Technical term for a body of the Soviet and post-Soviet governments (see Apparatchik) *Machine *Equipment *Critical apparatus, the critical and primary source material that accompanies an edition of a text * "Apparatus" (so ...

*Epibranchial Number **embryos having a single epibranchial *Tail Autotomy *Brain stem motor control *Bone structure of Jaws,

Cranial Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Thi ...

, and inner ear *

Chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number **

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

number of chromosomes is 26 *Development Classification of this genus is primarily accomplished through analysis of the salamanders' DNA. This has proven to be the most effective and accurate way of classifying this genus.

Species

As of January 2024, there are 140 recognised species assigned to this genus.

References

External links

* eb application 2008. Berkeley, California
''Bolitoglossa''
AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: 29 July 2008). {{Authority control Amphibian genera Amphibians of North America Amphibians of South America Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by Auguste Duméril Taxonomy articles created by Polbot