Two New Species of Pseudoeurycea (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from the Mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico

We describe two new species of salamanders of the genus Pseudoeurycea from mountains in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Pseudoeurycea papenfussi, a large, muscular member of the P. gadovii group, occurs near the peaks (just below 3000 m) of the highest mountains of the Sierra de Juárez. It is related to P. smithi, a more southerly species, and possibly to P. aquatica, another species from Oaxaca. Pseudoeurycea obesa, a rotund member of the P. leprosa group, is known only from the type locality in the Sierra Mazateca at the northernmost extremity of Oaxaca. It is related to P. werleri and P. mystax, which are known from more southern parts of Oaxaca. These descriptions bring to 27 the number of species of salamanders known from Oaxaca. Most of these species are endemic to the state and are known only from regions that are undergoing rapid habitat modification and destruction.

Resumen

Describimos dos especies nuevas de salamandras del género Pseudoeurycea de las montañas del norte del Estado de Oaxaca, Mexico. Pseudoeurycea papenfussi es una especie de gran tamaño, de aspecto musculoso, incluida en el grupo de P. gadovii, que se encuentra cerca de las cumbres (justo por debajo de los 3000 m) de las montañas más altas de la Sierra de Juárez. Está relacionada con P. smithi, que se encuentra en regiones más meridionales, y posiblemente con P. aquatica, también de Oaxaca. Pseudoeurycea obesa, es una especie rechoncha del grupo de P. leprosa, que únicamente se conoce la localidad típica en la Sierra Mazateca del extremo noroccidental de Oaxaca.

Fig. 1.

Map depicting localities of two new species of Pseudoeurycea from northern Oaxaca, Mexico, plus localities of related species in Oaxaca and adjacent Veracruz. Several species are known only from their respective type localities (discussed in text). Cerro San Felipe, the type locality of P. smithi, is located immediately north of Oaxaca City. Light shading denotes low-elevation areas (< 1000 m)

Fig. 2.

(A) Holotype of Pseudoeurycea papenfussi in life: IBH 14198, an adult female from the north slope of Cerro Pelón, Sierra de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico. (B) Chin and throat of a live male Pseudoeurycea papenfussi (IBH 14199), showing the prominent mental gland. (C) Forest near the peak of Cerro Pelón, showing typical habitat of Pseudoeurycea papenfussi. (D) Road bank along Mexican Hwy. 175 at Cerro Pelón. Virtually all specimens of Pseudoeurycea papenfussi known from this region have been collected at night from rock surfaces such as this one. (E) Holotype of Pseudoeurycea obesa in life; IBH 14195, an adult male from Plan de Guadalupe, Sierra Mazateca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Contributor Notes

(GP-O) Instituto de Biología, UNAM, AP 70– 153, CP 04510, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico D.F.; (MG-P) Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, c. José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain; (JH) Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138; (DBW) Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720–3160. (GP-O) gparra@ibunam.ibiologia.unam.mx Send reprint requests to GP-O.

Accepted: 22 Jan 2005