Wetenschappers hebben in de bergen van Oaxaca in Mexico 3 nieuwe kleine Plethodontidae gevonden; Thorius pinicola ("Pine-dwelling Minute Salamander"), Thorius longicaudus ("Long-tailed Minute Salamander", deze kun je hier onder zien), en Thorius tlaxiacus (“Heroic Minute Salamander”).
'Decades of study by an international team of scientists has found and described three new salamanders of the genus Thorius – making them the smallest tailed tetrapods known to science. This special trio was confirmed to be all new species by their appearance, bone structure, and differences in their DNA sequences. The study, recently published in the journal PeerJ, also redescribed dozens of other tiny matchstick-like salamanders from the genus.
Each is an average of 25.7 millimeters, 25.5 millimeters, and 28 millimeters long, respectively – roughly the size of a 25 cents coin across. Their skulls are all just around 4.5 millimeters in length.
Populations of genus Thorius were once thriving. However, within the past 30 to 35 years, it’s hard to find a living Thorius in the wild. In fact, almost all 30 of the known species are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It’s looking more and more likely that the whole genus will go extinct within 50 years, including these newly discovered species.'
Bron: IFLScience & Peerj.com
De nieuw ontdekte Thorius longicauda. Mario Garcia-Paris.
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Dit jaar vinden de Tilburgse Terrarium Dagen (de oudste en gezelligste reptielenbeurs van Nederland) als vanouds plaats in het laatste weekend van augustus. Een overdekte parkeergarage van ruim 1500 m2 wordt het decor voor een traditioneel gemoedelijk evenement waar ervaren terrarianen, liefhebbers en leken elkaar kunnen ontmoeten op het terrein van Dierenpark ´