Hypselotriton (Hakkatriton) orphicus (Risch, 1983)

Pachytriton brevipes (Sauvage, 1876) – Pope and Boring (1940); Gressitt (1941)

Cynops shataukokensis Freytag & Eberhardt, 1977 – Freytag (1979)

Cynops orphicus Risch, 1983 – Risch (1983); Fei et al. (2006, 2012); Fei and Ye (2016)

Hypselotriton (Pingia) orphicus – Dubois and Raffaëlli (2009)

Hypselotriton (Cynotriton) orphicus – Dubois and Raffaëlli (2011)

Cynops glaucus Yuan, Jiang, Ding, Zhang & Che, 2013 syn. nov. – Yuan et al. (2013, 2022); Fei and Ye (2016); Lyu et al. (2023 a)

Hypselotriton (Cynotriton) glaucus – Raffaëlli (2022)

Type.

Holotype. China • ♂; Guangdong Province, Shantou Region [now belonging to Jieyang City, Jiexi County], Tai-Yong [Dayang Township]; 23 ° 35 ' N, 115 ° 51 ' E [= 23.58 ° N, 115.85 ° E; located in Liangtian Township, see remarks below], 640 m elev.; 4 Aug. 1936; JL Gressitt leg.; SYS 22474.

Paratypes. China • 97 adult specimens; same data as for holotype; SYS 22416 –73, 22475 –506 [90 specimens], MNHN 1980.4096 – 4098 [3 specimens, formerly SYS 24134 –36], AMNH 46174, CAS 78704, 2 unnumbered specimens in the Department of Biology, Yenching University [probably lost according to Risch (1983)].

Examined specimens.

China • 4 ♂♂; Guangdong Province, Jieyang City, Jiexi County, Mt Dabei; 23.55 ° N, 115.89 ° E, ca. 490 m elev.; GEP a 008, 010–011, CIB 121434 • 2 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; GEP a 009, CIB 121435 • 2 ♂♂; Guangdong Province, Meizhou City, Fengshun County, Mt Hongtuzhang; 23.78 ° N, 115.96 ° E, ca. 1200 m elev.; GEP a 263 –264 • 3 ♂♂; Guangdong Province, Meizhou City, Fengshun County, Mt Shijiadong; 23.81 ° N, 116.33 ° E, ca. 1140 m elev.; GEP a 314 –316 • 3 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; GEP a 317 –319.

Referred specimens.

Seven specimens labelled as “ Cynops glaucus ” in Lyu et al. (2023 a). China • 2 ♀♀; Guangdong Province, Jieyang City, Jiexi County, Mt Dabei; SYS a 000729, 8511 • 1 ♂; Guangdong Province, Jieyang City, Jiexi County, Mt. Liwangzhang; 23.64 ° N, 115.81 ° E, ca. 990 m elev.; SYS a 008602 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; SYS a 008601 • 2 ♀♀; Guangdong Province, Meizhou City, Fengshun County, Mt. Tongguzhang; 24.18 ° N, 116.35 ° E, ca. 1500 m elev.; SYS a 000730, 4743 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; SYS a 000731.

Etymology.

The specific name orphicus is derived from the Greek legendary musician and poet Orpheus, in memory of several people who passed away in 1982 (Risch 1983).

Common name.

Dayang Fire-bellied Newt (in English) / cháo shàn róng yuán (潮汕蝾螈 in Chinese).

Revised diagnosis.

(1) small body size, TOL 68.5–77.0 mm in adult males, 85.1–99.7 mm in adult females; (2) parotoid gland inconspicuous; (3) postocular orange spot absent; (4) surface smooth, finely granulated, gular fold absent; (5) continuous vertebral ridge weak and inconspicuous; (6) fingers and toes overlapping when fore-limb and hind-limb adpressed towards each other along body; (7) ground colour dark brown to olive brown, with irregular greyish-blue patches on dorsum and lateral tail in breeding males and females; (8) lateral tail with black spots; (9) ground colour of venter dark brown with irregular bright orange patches, bright orange blotches on chin, ventral limbs and cloaca; (10) ventral tail with a bright orange stripe.

Description of new specimens.

Body slender and small-sized, TOL 68.5–77.0 mm in adult males, 85.1–99.7 mm in adult females, with detailed measurements listed in Table 2. Head oval in dorsal view; snout truncate, projecting slightly beyond mandible; nostril small, but conspicuous; labial fold developed on posterior part of upper jaw; tongue elongate, enlarged anteriorly, with free lateral margin; vomerine tooth patch “ ^ ” - shaped; eye small, not extending beyond lateral margins of head; an inconspicuous longitudinal ridge found posterior to each eye; parotoid gland inconspicuous, gill remnants absent; gular fold absent.

Surface smooth, finely granular; a few inconspicuous longitudinal wrinkles present on chin; continuous vertebral ridge weak and inconspicuous; cloacal opening oval, slightly protruding.

Limbs slender, fingers and toes overlapping when fore-limb and hind-limb adpressed towards each other along body; four fingers and five toes, slender and elongated, lack webbing; relative length of fingers I <IV <II <III; relative length of toes I <V <II <IV <III. Tail laterally compressed, tapering posteriorly; caudal fin distinct; tail tip bluntly pointed.

Colouration of new specimens.

In life, ground colour dark brown to olive brown, with irregular greyish-blue patches on dorsum and lateral tail; lateral tail with black spots; a single bright orange dot on insertion of upper forearm; tips of digits light yellow to bright orange; ground colour of venter dark brown with irregular bright orange patches, bright orange blotches on chin, ventral limbs and cloaca; ventral tail with a bright orange stripe (Fig. 3).

In preservation, ground colour dark brown, irregular greyish-blue patches on dorsum and lateral tail faded and almost invisible; black spots on lateral tail and bright orange dot on insertion of upper forearm faded; bright orange blotches on ventral trunk and tail, bright orange blotches on chin, ventral limbs and cloaca slightly faded, dark patches more distinct.

Variations.

For measurements, see Table 2. Larger body size in females; cloaca wider and more swollen in males than in females; tail proportionally shorter and wider in males than in females; variable greyish-blue patches on dorsum and lateral tail in both breeding males and females.

Distribution and natural history.

This species is known from multiple localities at elevations of 490–1500 m in the Lianhua Mountains and on the west of the Hanjiang River in eastern Guangdong (Fig. 1).

Adults are observed in wetlands, seasonal ponds, cultivated valleys and small lakes surrounded by forests from March to September. The breeding season is spring to summer. When breeding, a large number of individuals gather in the lentic water area. Males chase the females and show their courtship willingness by wagging their tails. Females lay eggs with jelly coating on tips of the leaves of aquatic plants. Eggs develop into larvae after about half a month and larvae develop into adults after about six to eight months. The newts feed on a variety of food sources, mainly small molluscs and arthropods in their habitat. Risch (1983) surmises that the newt might inhabit water all year round; however, adults leave the water from late September to early March to live on land until the next spring rains arrive.

Remarks.

The type specimens of this species were reported to be collected from Tai-yong (Gressitt 1937, 1941; Fig. 1, site 2). When describing them as a new species, Risch (1983) provided the type locality from traditional transliteration “ Tai-yong ” to current Pinyin as “ Dayang ”. Risch (1983) further provided the coordinates for this locality as “ 23 ° 35 ' N, 115 ° 51 ' E [= 23.58 ° N, 115.85 ° E] ”; however, this coordinate is located in Liangtian Township (Fig. 1, site 3) which is ca. 15 km from Dayang Township. During the surveys across the region in Jiexi and Fengshun counties encompassing these two localities, we failed to observed Hypselotriton populations from the vicinity of both sites 2 and 3, possibly due to the development of urbanisation. Nonetheless, morphological characters of the specimens from neighbouring Mt Dabei, Mt Liwangzhang, Mt Hongtuzhang, Mt Tongguzhang and Mt Shijiadong (Fig. 1, sites 4–8) all match the original description of H. orphicus.

According to the original descriptions of Hypselotriton glaucus syn. nov. and H. (Ha.) orphicus, the only difference between them is the irregular greyish-blue patches on dorsum. Such colour pattern just occurs in the breeding living individuals and will fade after preservation according to our examinations. Thus, based on the morphological and phylogenetic results, we synonymised H. glaucus syn. nov. with H. (Ha.) orphicus.