''Thorius pennatulus'' 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 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 ...

and one of the smallest

tetrapod Tetrapods (; ) are four-limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant taxon, extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (p ...

s, with adults reaching a length of about . 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 els ...

to the mountains of

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.

Description

''Thorius pennatulus'' is a very small species of salamander reaching a total length of up to . The head is broad with a pointed snout, small nostrils and protuberant eyes. The tail and limbs are relatively long. The hands and feet are slender with short digits, the longest of which are pointed. The colour is generally pale brown with a regular pattern of darker markings on the back.

Distribution and habitat

''Thorius pennatulus'' has been found at several locations on the Gulf slope of 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 ...

, between 1,000 and 1,500 meters elevation. It is a terrestrial species and during the day hides under rocks, in or under rotten logs or among leaf litter in banana plantations. It inhabits

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

and lower altitude forest and is also found in damp coffee plantations.

Biology

The young of ''Thorius pennatulus'' develop directly in the egg and do not have a

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

l stage.

Status

''Thorius pennatulus'' is listed as "

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

" by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. At one time it was a very common species in the limited area of forest and plantation where it is found but it underwent a large, unexplained decrease in population so that by the mid 1970s it was uncommon and since then it has continued to decline. There has been an increase in agricultural activities within its range but there is still plenty of good quality habitat remaining so its decline is a mystery. One individual was recorded in 2004 and another in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorius Pennatulus Thorius Amphibians described in 1869 Endemic amphibians of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Taxonomy articles created by Polbot