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In a remote mountain stream in a China reserve, a new species was discovered.
Animals
From frogs to salamanders to the axolotl, amphibians are the most threatened animal group in the world. Pollution, habitat loss and a pandemic-level fungus have brought countless species to the brink as researchers rush to find ways to protect the sensitive creatures.
But while some amphibians face existential threats to their existence, others are being discovered for the very first time.
China has become an amphibian biodiversity hotspot in recent years as 44 new amphibian species were discovered in 2022 and 31 were found the following year, representing around one third of all new amphibian discoveries in the world in each year.
Now, on a remote mountain in the Qingliangfeng Nature Reserve, researchers have identified another new species of newt.
“Field surveys targeting the genus Pachytriton were conducted in Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces, China, in August and September 2023. A limited number of specimens were collected for each species due to their restricted distributions and preference for remote, challenging habitats, which complicates sampling efforts,” according to a study published Oct. 17 in the peer-reviewed journal Animals.
Researchers collected a total of 14 newts, including four that couldn’t initially be identified, according to the study.
The holotype, or primary specimen used to describe the new species, was found in a remote mountain stream where the “ water flow is shallow, but the flow velocity is fast,” researchers said.
The newt is “small-sized,” measuring up to 2.7 inches from head to butt in males and females, according to the study.
The “slender” animal has smooth skin and an oval and flat head, researchers said. The newt’s compressed tail is “blunt and round” at the end.
From the top, the newt appears “uniformly black” with a ridge that forms along its spine, according to the study.
The newt’s belly, however, is “orange red in color, with a few brown short lines or worm-like spots,” researchers said. The cloacal opening, or the opening used to expel waste, and the bottom of the tail are “bright orange.”
The new species was named Pachytriton cheni, honoring the late “world-renowned” herpetologist Bi-Hui Chen, often called the “father of the Chinese alligator,” according to the study.
Chen “decoded the survival strategies of the critically endangered Alligator sinensis (Chinese alligator) through persistent field studies,” and “his work was pivotal in developing effective conservation breeding programs that ultimately rescued the species from the brink of extinction,” researchers said.
Pachytriton cheni, or Cheni’s stout newt, has only been found in small mountain streams near the mountaintop at elevations between 2,788 and 4,429 feet, according to the study.
“Large boulders are scattered throughout the stream. The flowing water is very clear, and some areas have formed small ponds after the rain,” researchers said. (
The newts are best suited for cold water environments, often found on the mountaintops, so their range becomes restricted as temperatures warm at lower elevations, researchers said.
The new species inhabits an incredibly small range, leaving it at risk of habitat changes despite living inside a nature reserve, according to the study. Researchers tested for fungal infections and the newts had not yet been infected, but if the fungus were to reach the mountaintops, the species would be at significant risk.
Qingliangfeng Nature Reserve is located in Zhejiang Province in eastern China.
The research team includes Zhirong He, Siyu Wu, Shanqing Wang, Li Ma, Na Zhao, Xiaobing Wu and Supen Wang.
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Irene Wright
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