Hynobius formosanus Maki, 1922

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Hynobiidae > Subfamily: Hynobiinae > Genus: Hynobius > Species: Hynobius formosanus

Hynobius formosanus Maki, 1922, Zool. Mag., Tokyo, 34: 637. Type(s): Not designated, although likely TIU according to Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 5; destroyed in WWII according to Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2006, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 1: 148. NMNS 19873 designated neotype by Nishikawa, Ju, Jheng, Lin, Hara, Lai, Lin, and Lue, 2021, Zootaxa, 4981: 194. Type locality: "Oiwake, Taichu-shu, altitude about 7,000 feet", Taiwan, China, according to Maki, 1928, Annot. Zool. Japon., 11: 132. Given as "Mt. Noritaka, altitude 7,000 ft., Formosa (Taiwan)" by Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 5. Neotype from "Tianchi, Nantou, Taiwan". 

Hynobius (Poyarius) formosanusDubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161. Based on specimens of Hynobius sonani. See comment. 

Hynobius (Makihynobius) formosanus —  Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 45. Based on specimens of Hynobius sonani. See comment. 

Poyarius formosanus — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 407. Presumably based on Hynobius sonani. See comment. 

English Names

Taiwan Salamander (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 28).

Formosan Salamander (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 24; Lue, Tu, and Hsiang, 1999, Atlas Taiwan Amph. Rept.: 24).

Formosan Hynobiid (Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 45). 

Distribution

High elevations in the mountains of northeast-central Taiwan, 2600 to 3200 m elevation.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Taiwan

Endemic: Taiwan

Comment

In the Hynobius naevius group; by implication. Redescribed by Maki, 1928, Annot. Zool. Japon., 11: 131–132. Reviewed by Sato, 1941, Trans. Nat. Hist. Formosa, 31: 114–124. Nishikawa, Ju, Jheng, Lin, Hara, Lai, Lin, and Lue, 2021, Zootaxa, 4981: 188–196, resolved a terrible nomenclatural problem based on early confusions of specimens that rendered most publication using the name Hynbius sonani for populations of Hynobius formosus, and vice versa. By discussing the historical problem and designating neotypes they resolved the nomenclatural problem, but, basically almost all literature addressing these salamanders after the 1940s had the identifications backwards. Considered by Dunn, 1923, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 58: 479; Thorn, 1968, Salamand. Eur. Asie Afr. Nord: 71; and Thorn and Raffaëlli, 2000, Salamand. Ancien Monde: 91, to be a junior synonym of Hynobius sonani, but this was rejected by Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China: 31; and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China, who provided accounts (as Hynobius sonani). In the Hynobius sonani group of Fei and Ye, 2005, in Fei et al. (eds.), Illust. Key Chinese Amph.: 30 (as Hynobius sonani), and who only noted Chinese species. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2006, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 1: 148–150, and Lue, Tu, and Hsiang, 1999, Atlas Taiwan Amph. Rept.: 24–25, provided accounts (as Hynobius sonani). See illustration, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 550 (as Hynobius sonani). Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 43, provided a brief account (as Hynobius sonani), photographs and an illustration of specimens. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 45–46, provided an account (as Hynobius sonani), photographs, and map for China.Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 59–60, provided a brief account (as Hynobius sonani), photo, and map. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 60–62, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species (as Hynobius sonani). See account (as Hynobius sonani), photograph, and map by Fei and Ye, 2016, Amph. China, 1: 175–177. Guo, Yang, and Li, 2009, Colored Illust. Amph. Rept. Taiwan: 54–55, provided a brief account (as Hynobius sonani), photographs, and map. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 70–72, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, and distribution (including a polygon map).  

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