identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
DCBE9F3890CD5DD2ACF71531BCC1852A.text	DCBE9F3890CD5DD2ACF71531BCC1852A.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Tylototriton vietnamirabilis Ong & Phan & Hoang & Nguyen & Nguyen & Ziegler & Nguyen & Pham 2026	<div><p>Tylototriton vietnamirabilis sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 5, 6, 7, 8, Table 2</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype. • IB A.6425 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.67), adult male collected by A. V. Ong, T. Q. Phan, and N. H. Nguyen on 4 July 2025 in the evergreen forest of <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=104.1663&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=19.391384" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 104.1663/lat 19.391384)">Phu Xai Lai Leng Mountain</a> (19°23.483'N, 104°09.978'E, at an elevation of 1884 m a. s. l.), Nghe An Province, Vietnam . Paratypes. • Four adult males: IB A.6426 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.68), IB A.6427 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.64), IB A.6428 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.65), IB A.6429 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.66); • one adult female: IB A.6430 (Field No. PXLL-NA 2025.69), the same collection data as the holotype .</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The name “ vietnamirabilis ” is a Latinized form of the modern word creation Vietnamazing. The new species is named to highlight the Vietnamazing conservation campaign 2024–2025 of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The Vietnamazing campaign aimed to raise public awareness of Vietnam’s unique biodiversity and its conservation, establish conservation projects with crocodile newts being one of the flagship groups of the campaign and raise funds for species conservation, following and higlighting IUCN's " One Plan Approach to Conservation ". From 2026 onwards, after the completion of the EAZA campaign, Vietnamazing will continue as the Vietnamazing conservation network, a program under ZGAP (Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations). As common names, we suggest Vietnamazing Crocodile Newt (English), Cá cóc vi ệt nam k ỳ thú (Vietnamese).</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>The new species is assigned to the subgenus Tylototriton based on the results of the molecular phylogenetic analyses and the following morphological attributes: back with dorsal granules, head with dorsolateral bony ridges, knob-like warts or rib nodules present on dorsolateral body, and the absence of quadrate spine (Le et al. 2015; Fei and Ye 2016; Pomchote et al. 2021, 2024). The new species is diagnosed from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: (1) size medium (SVL 61.2–67.9 mm, TL 64.3–75.2 mm in males, and SVL 71.6 mm, TL 78.3 mm in a single female); (2) tail longer than the snout-vent length; (3) head longer than wide; (4) glandular ridge on midline of crown distinct; (5) parotoids prominent and enlarged, projecting backwards; (6) vertebral ridge large, raised, and glandular in appearance; (7) 15 or 16 distinct dorsolateral glandular warts; (8) gular fold present; (9) dorsolateral bony ridges, parotoids, rib nodules, and vertebral ridge dull orange; and (10) tail with distinct lateral grooves.</p><p>Description of holotype.</p><p>Size medium (SVL 66.8 mm, TL 74.7 mm); head longer than wide (MHW / HL 77.5 %); snout short (SL / SVL 9.6 %), round in dorsal profile, oval in lateral profile, extending beyond lower jaw; nostril on anterolateral margin of snout, closer to the snout tip than to the eye; labial fold absent; tongue oval, attached to anterior floor of mouth, free laterally and posteriorly; vomerine teeth series in an inverted V-shape, converging anteriorly and reaching choanae; glandular ridge on midline of crown distinct; internarial distance wider than interorbital distance (IE / IN 74.1 %); head with thick dorsolateral bony ridges, prominent, slightly protruding, extending from lore to anterior end of parotoid; parotoids enlarged, crescent-shaped, projecting posteriorly with posterior margins curved medially; glandular vertebral ridge wide, well raised, slightly segmented tuberculate, extending from occiput to base of dorsal margin of tail; rib nodules large, forming knob-like warts, distinctly isolated from each other, 16 on each side of body from axilla to base of tail; gular fold present.</p><p>Limbs comparatively long, slender; length of forelimbs shorter than hindlimbs; relative length of forelimb FORE / SVL ratio 38.8 %, relative length of hindlimb HIND / SVL ratio 43.0 %; tips of forelimb and hindlimb overlapping when adpressed along the body; tips of fingers reaching to snout tip when foreleg is laid forward; fingers and toes well developed, free of webbing; fingers four, comparative finger lengths 1 FL &lt;4 FL &lt;2 FL &lt;3 FL; toes five, comparative toe lengths 1 TL &lt;5 TL &lt;2 TL &lt;4 TL &lt;3 TL.</p><p>Tail longer than the snout-vent length (TL / SVL 111.8 %), compressed laterally, the base relatively broad, tapering posteriorly, tail tip pointed; tail base higher than width; fin fold narrow; tail with distinct lateral grooves; ventral side smooth.</p><p>Dorsal skin very rough, with small granules present on dorsal surfaces of head and back; flanks with dense granules; throat and dorsal surfaces of limbs with numerous tiny flat tubercles; chest and belly with tubercles shaped like transverse wrinkles; plantar surface of hands and feet with tiny grooves, forming reticulated pattern; lateral side of tail with granules; ventral side of tail smooth; cloacal region slightly swollen, vent as a longitudinal slit, edged with numerous small transverse folds.</p><p>Coloration in life.</p><p>In life, ground color of dorsal and ventral surfaces dark brown; dorsolateral bony ridges, parotoids, rib nodules, vertebral ridge, the peripheral area of the cloaca, tips of fingers, toes and lateral side of tail dull orange; ventral edge of the tail orange</p><p>Coloration in preservative.</p><p>In preservative, the specimens are blackish brown. The dull orange coloration in life has faded to beige.</p><p>Secondary sexual characteristics.</p><p>Males are likely smaller than females. However, this observation is based on a limited sample size and requires confirmation through additional female specimens. The female cloacal slit is short and its inner cloacal walls lack papillae. The male exhibits a long cloacal slit, with papillae present on the inner cloacal walls.</p><p>Distribution.</p><p>The new species is currently known only from the evergreen forest on Phu Xai Lai Leng Mountain in Nghe An Province, north-central Vietnam (Fig. 1).</p><p>Ecological notes.</p><p>Type specimens were collected at night between 19: 00 and 21: 00 h, in a small pond (Fig. 9 A). The surrounding habitat was evergreen broadleaf forest composed of large, medium, and small hardwoods mixed with shrubs (Fig. 9 B). Air temperatures and relative humidity at the sites ranged from 19.1–23.5 ° C and 90–98 %, respectively.</p><p>Morphological measurements.</p><p>Morphometric measurements of the type series of Tylototriton vietnamirabilis sp. nov. are given in Table 2.</p><p>Morphological comparisons.</p><p>We compared the new species with other members of the subgenus Tylototriton based on data obtained from the literature (Suppl. material 2).</p><p>Morphologically, Tylototriton vietnamirabilis sp. nov. resembles T. anguliceps, a recently described species from northwestern Vietnam and Thailand. However, the new species is distinguished from the latter by having dorsolateral bony ridges on head thick (vs narrow), internarial distance wider than interorbital distance (vs narrower), parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs bright orange), dorsal surface of head dark brown (vs orange), and chin and throat dark brown (vs orange with dark markings) (Fig. 8);</p><p>from T. himalayanus Khatiwada, Wang, Ghimire, Vasudevan, Paudel &amp; Jiang, 2015 by having rib nodules large (vs small), the fin fold on tail narrow (vs well developed), and parotoids, rib nodules, vertebral ridge dull orange (vs dark brown);</p><p>from T. kachinorum Zaw, Lay, Pawangkhanant, Gorin &amp; Poyarkov, 2019 by having a smaller size in males (TOL 125.5–141.5 mm vs 144.5–170.3 mm), more rib nodules (15–16 vs 13–14), the glandular ridge on crown distinct (vs indistinct), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed);</p><p>from T. kweichowensis by having a smaller size in males (TOL 125.5–141.5 mm vs 155.0–195.0 mm), tail longer than the snout-vent length in males (vs shorter), the presence of gular fold (vs absent), rib nodules large and knob-like (vs small and not segmented), and tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed);</p><p>from T. panwaensis by having vomerine teeth in contact with choanae (vs not in contact), the presence of gular fold (vs absent), the vertebral ridge segmented (vs not segmented), tail longer than the snout-vent length in males (vs shorter), and a greater ratio of CIL / SVL in males (0.14 vs 0.07);</p><p>from T. phukhaensis by having rib nodules large (vs small), vertebral ridge wide (vs narrow), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and tail with a narrow fin fold (vs well developed);</p><p>from T. podichthys by having glandular ridge on crown distinct (vs indistinct), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), the vertebral ridge segmented (vs not segmented), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs bright orange), chin and throat dark brown (vs orange with dark markings);</p><p>from T. pulcherrimus by the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and tail with narrow the fin fold (vs well developed), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs bright orange-yellow);</p><p>from T. shanjing by having tail longer than the snout-vent length in males (vs shorter), parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs orange-yellow), tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed), dorsal surface of head dark brown (vs orange), and chin and throat dark brown (vs orange with dark markings);</p><p>from T. shanorum by having a smaller size in males (TOL 125.5–141.5 mm vs 153.0 mm), more rib nodules (15–16 vs 14), the glandular ridge on crown distinct (vs indistinct), rib nodules large (vs small), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed);</p><p>from T. soimalai by the presence of gular fold (vs absent), the vertebral ridge segmented (vs not segmented), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs orange);</p><p>from T. umphangensis by having a smaller size in males (TOL 125.5–141.5 mm vs 150.5–152.7 mm), the glandular ridge on crown distinct (vs indistinct), rib nodules large (vs small), the vertebral ridge wide (vs narrow), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed);</p><p>from T. uyenoi by having a smaller size in males (TOL 125.5–141.5 mm vs 150.0 mm), rib nodules large (vs small), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), tail with narrow fin fold (vs well developed), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs orange to reddish brown);</p><p>from T. verrucosus by the presence of gular fold (vs absent), rib nodules large (vs small), the vertebral ridge wide and segmented (vs narrow and not segmented), the presence of lateral grooves on tail (vs absent), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs reddish brown); and</p><p>from T. yangi by having tail longer than the snout-vent length in males (vs shorter), the presence of gular fold (vs absent), and parotoids, rib nodules as well as vertebral ridge dull orange (vs brownish yellow on parotoids and yellow on rib nodules, vertebral ridge).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/DCBE9F3890CD5DD2ACF71531BCC1852A	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Ong, An Vinh;Phan, Tien Quang;Hoang, Chung Van;Nguyen, Mai Hong Thi;Nguyen, Tao Thien;Ziegler, Thomas;Nguyen, Truong Quang;Pham, Cuong The	Ong, An Vinh, Phan, Tien Quang, Hoang, Chung Van, Nguyen, Mai Hong Thi, Nguyen, Tao Thien, Ziegler, Thomas, Nguyen, Truong Quang, Pham, Cuong The (2026): A new species of Tylototriton (Amphibia, Salamandridae) from Phu Xai Lai Leng Mountain, Nghe An Province, Vietnam. ZooKeys 1276: 285-305, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1276.173848
