We describe a small salamander from south Central Honshu, Japan, as a new species, Hynobius katoi. The genetic distances between this species and several named species, including sympatric H. kimurae, derived from allozyme data from a starch gel electrophoresis, proved to be sufficiently large to differentiate it at a specific rank. Distribution of this species is confined to the montane regions of Shizuoka and Nagano Prefectures, on the Akaishi Mountains of the Chubu District, central Japan. It is regarded as a member of the naevius group of Hynobius, characterized by small number of large, pigmentless ova. The species differs from the other species of the naevius group by the combination of relatively small body size, nearly spotless body, relatively few vomerine teeth forming moderately shallow series, and unique electrophoretic pattern of isozymes.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2004
A New Species of Salamander of the Genus Hynobius from Central Honshu, Japan (Amphibia, Urodela)
Masafumi Matsui,
Yasuhiro Kokuryo,
Yasuchika Misawa,
Kanto Nishikawa
central Japan
electrophoresis
Hynobius katoi
taxonomy
Urodela