A New Species of Tylototriton Anderson, 1871 (Amphibia: Salamandridae) from Northern Indochina

Abstract

We describe a new species of Tylototriton from northwestern Vietnam and northern Thailand based on morphological and molecular evidence. Tylototriton anguliceps sp. nov. is distinguishable from all the other congeners by the bright to dark orange markings on the head, body, and tail, prominent dorsal and dorsolateral ridges (crests) on the head, skeletal connection between maxillary and pterygoid, and unique mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Our molecular data show that the new species is nested within the clade comprising T. uyenoi, T. shanjing, T. verrucosus, and T. yangi. The new species is expected to be recorded from other countries in the Indochina region such as southern China, western Myanmar and northern Laos in the future.