%0 Journal Article %J Copeia %D 1994 %T Five New Species of Minute Salamanders, Genus Thorius (Caudata, Plethodonitdaee, from Northern Oaxaca, Mexico %A Hanken, J. %A Wake, D.B. %K amphibia %K miniaturization %K Morphology %K plethodontidae %X

Five new species of diminutive salamanders of the endemic Mexican genus Thorius (Plethodontidae) are described from the Sierra de Juarez in northern Oaxaca. The species are diagnosed by adult body size, external proportions, dentition, osteology and coloration. The three species that have been studied using protein electrophoresis are genetically unique; all differ from T. macdougalli, the only species of the genus previously known from these mountains. Each of the six species studied has distinct geographic and elevational ranges, and there is a complex pattern of geographic overlap and replacement. As many as three species co-occur locally at elevations up to 2955 m on Cerro Pelon, and each species is sympatric with at least one other. One species descends to approximately 800 m, which is the lowest known elevational record for the genus. The new taxa include the full size range of the genus, with two large and three small species.

%B Copeia %P 573-590 %8 Aug 17 %@ 0045-8511 %G English %M WOS:A1994PD12700001 %! CopeiaCopeia