Hynobius formosanus Maki, 1922

Nishikawa, Kanto, Ju, Yu-Ten, Jheng, Sheng-Wun, Lin, You-Zhu, Hara, Sotaro, Lai, June-Shiang, Lin, Si-Min & Lue, Kuang-Yang, 2021, Taxonomic clarification and neotype designation of two Taiwanese salamanders (Amphibia, Urodela, Hynobiidae), Zootaxa 4981 (1), pp. 188-196 : 194

Hynobius formosanus Maki, 1922

Hynobius formosanus Maki, 1922: 637 ; Maki, 1928: 131; Okada, 1934: 18 (part); Okada, 1935: 581 (part); Sato, 1937: 38 (part); Fei et al., 2006: 148.

Hynobius sonani Dunn, 1923: 479 (part); Takashima, 1936: 22 (part) Sato, 1941: 115; Sato, 1943: 97 (part).

Pseudosalamandra sonani Tago, 1929: 431 (part); Tago, 1931: 197 (part).

Hynobius sonani Lai & Lue, 2008: 63 ; Fei et al., 2010: 47.

Hynobius (Poyarius) sonani Dubois & Raffaëlli, 2012: 137 .

Hynobius (Makihynobius) sonani Fei, Ye & Jiang, 2012: 48 .

Neotype. NMNS 19873 (former NTUNB L118 ): Male; Tianchi, Nantou, Taiwan, collected by J.-S. Lai on August 26 th, 1995.

Original type locality: Oiwake, Taichu-shu; altitude about 7,000 feet; collected by J. Sonan on May 1919.

Diagnosis: A moderate-sized species (mean adult SVL = 56.8 mm in male and 58.4 mm in female: Lai & Lue 2008) within the lotic breeding Hynobius , breeding in mountainous streams; dorsum dark brown with yellow to yellowish brown spots or dots; limbs and tail long; tips of fore- and hindlimbs adpressed on body scarcely meeting (separation of -2.0 to -1.0 costal folds in male and -2.0 in female); fifth toe well developed; ova large, pigmentless; egg sacs long and string-like, weakly striated, without distinct whiptail structure on free end ( Kakegawa et al.1989); most similar to H. sonani among Taiwanese species, but with larger and more robust body, longer limbs, and larger markings; distinctly different from parapatric H. sonani in having larger markings and longer limbs and H. glacialis in having smaller body and shorter limbs and tail.