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The Black Crocodile Salamander, Tylototriton asperrimus Unterstein (1930)

Taxonomy

Tylototriton asperrimus is one lesser-known species in the genus, with little knowledge about ecology and overall status. Taxonomy appeared to be confusing in past years, with unclear subspecific status of T. wenxianensis and T. hainanensis. Recent genetics however have proved that all three are definitely species (Weisrock et al. 2006). This is supported by morphological evidence between T. asperrimus and T. wenxianensis, which are not all that similar.

T. asperrimus has morphological characteristics of both Tylototriton and Echinotriton, witch has lead to a confusing nomenclatural history. Nussbaum & Brodie (1982) did not include T. asperrimus in their newly described genus Echinotriton. Zhao et al. (1988) and Zhao & Adler (1993) include this species into Echinotriton, with the in 1984 described E. a. wenxianensis (Fei, Ye & Yang 1984). The Hainan Crocodile Salamander, T. hainanensis, was described in the last mentioned article as a new species. Zhao et al. (1988) although stated this species as a synonym of T. asperrimus. After a silence of some years, Fei et al. (1999) elevated T. asperrimus, T. hainanensis and T. wenxianensis as separate species in the genus Tylototriton.

Appearance

T. asperrimus can become quite large, up to 200 mm. This species is completely black, with only orange to deep red toes, and similar coloured paratoïds and underside of the tail. The cranial ridges are well developed, witch is a characteristic of Tylototriton. A prominent dorsal ridge and two dorso-lateral rows of warts can clearly be seen.

Distribution and habitat

T. asperrimus is distributed in a large area in China, consisting of the Manson Mountains of Guangxi, Guangdong, Gansu, Sichuan, and Hubei. It also occurs in Mao Son and Lang Son in Northern Vietnam (Nguyen & Ho 1996), were individuals however are morphologically more similar to T. hainanensis (Böhme et al. 2005).

 
T. asperrimus (also called T. cf. vietnamensis) from Lao Cai, Vietnam. © Nguyen Quang Truong.

T. asperrimus found in a Japanese petshop, probably from Chinese origin. © Tim Johnson

Ecological data for T. asperrimus is missing.

Keeping and breeding

There is virtually no information about keeping and breeding these species. It is known that eggs are usually deposited alongside the edges of the water, as Echinotriton does. Some remarks of Fleck (2003) about keeping T. asperrimus can not be stated for this species because the animals studied are likely to be a new Tylototriton species from Vietnam (Schöttler 2003).

Status in captivity

T. asperrimus is seldom successfully kept. Most imported animals die very soon because of sickness and bad treatment during the transports from China. No breeding results are known. Most, if not all imports of "T. asperrimus" in recent years to Europe and America concerned T. wenxianensis.

For photos of T. asperrimus look here. 

Böhme, W., T. Schöttler, N. Q. Truong & J. Köhler (2005): A new species of salamander, genus Tylototriton (Urodela: Salamandridae), from northern Vietnam. Salamandra 41(4): 215-220.

eng, Q. & Z. Yu (1984): A new subspecies of salamander from Sichuan – Tylototriton asperrimus pingwuensis. Acta Herpetologica Sinica 3: 77. (Alleen abstract in Engels).

Fei, L. (1999): Atlas of Amphibians of China. Technology Press, Zhengzhou, China: 40-41.

Fleck, J. (2003): Beobachtungen an Tylototriton asperrimus Understein 1930. Amphibia 2(2): 3-6.

Frost, D. R. (2004): Amphibian species of the World: an online reference. Version 3.0 (22 August 2004). Electronic database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA

Nguyen, V. S. & T. C. Ho (1996): Danh luc bò sátvà êch nhái viêt nam. – Hanoi, 264 pp.

Nussbaum, R. A. & E. D. Brodie (1982): Partitioning of the Salamandrid genus Tylototriton Anderson (Amphibia: Caudata) with a description of a new genus. Herpetologica 38(2): 320-332.

Schöttler, T. (2003): Eine Molch-Reise nach Nordvietnam. Amphibia 2(2): 23-24.

Weisrock, D. W., T. J. Papenfuss, J. R. Macey, S. N. Litvinchuk, R. Polymeni, I. H. Ugurtas, E. Zhao, H. Jowkar & A. Larson (2006):A molecular assessment of phylogenetic relationships and lineage accumulation rates within the family Salamandridae (Amphibia, Caudata). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 368–383.

Zhao, E., Q. Hu, Y. Jiang & Y. Yang (1988): Studies on Chinese salamanders. Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles: 12-15.

Zhao, E. & K. Adler (1993): Herpetology of China. Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles.