Pseudoeurycea orchileucos

Pseudoeurycea orchileucos, commonly known as the Sierra de Juárez worm salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, where it is known from the northern slopes of Sierra de Juarez at elevations of 800–1,390 m (2,620–4,560 ft) above sea level.[1][3]

Pseudoeurycea orchileucos
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Pseudoeurycea
Species:
P. orchileucos
Binomial name
Pseudoeurycea orchileucos
(Brodie, Mendelson, and Campbell, 2002)
Synonyms
  • Lineatriton orchileucos Brodie, Mendelson, and Campbell, 2002[2]

Description

Males measure 30–33 mm (1.2–1.3 in) in snout–vent length. The average tail length is 60 mm (2.4 in). The head is about as wide as the body; the eyes are protuberant. There are 13 costal grooves. The specific name orchileucos, from the Greek orchis (=testicle) and leukos (=white), refers to the white color of the outer epithelial layer of the testes and vasa deferentia in adult males (the latter might have scattered melanocytes). This trait distinguishes it from Pseudoeurycea orchimelas with black testes and vasa deferentia.[2]

Habitat and conservation

Natural habitats of Pseudoeurycea orchileucos are cloud forests. They live in leaf litter terrestrially and fossorially;[1] most specimens have been recovered by turning rocks and stones or in and under rotting logs.[2] The species is threatened by habitat loss (deforestation) caused by expanding subsistence farming and human settlements and by logging.[1] It is a rare, poorly known species.[1]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2020). "Pseudoeurycea orchileucos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T59291A167150832. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. Brodie, E. D., Jr.; Mendelson, J. R. III; Campbell, J. A. (2002). "Taxonomic revision of the Mexican plethodontid salamanders of the genus Lineatriton, with the description of two new species". Herpetologica. 58 (2): 194–202. doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2002)058[0194:TROTMP]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3893194.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Pseudoeurycea orchileucos (Brodie, Mendelson, and Campbell, 2002)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
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