Hemidactyliinae Hallowell, 1856

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Plethodontidae > Subfamily: Hemidactyliinae
397 species

Mycetoglossina Bonaparte, 1850, Conspect. Syst. Herpetol. Amph.: 1 p. Type genus: Mycetoglossus Bonaparte, 1839. Placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid family-group names by Opinion 1873, Anonymous, 1997, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 54: 140-141.

Oedipina Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 42. Type genus: Oedipus Tschudi, 1838. 

Hemidactylidae Hallowell, 1856, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8: 11. Type Genus: Hemidactylium Tschudi, 1838. Placed on the Official List of Family-group Names in Zoology by Opinion 1873, Anonymous, 1997, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 54: 140–141. Selected to have priority over Bolitoglossidae Hallowell, 1856, by Dubois, 2005, Alytes, 23: 19.

Bolitoglossidae Hallowell, 1856, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8: 11. Type Genus: Bolitoglossa Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854. Synonymy with Plethodontidae by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 51.

Spelerpinae Cope, 1859, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 11: 123. Type genus: Spelerpes Rafinesque, 1832.

SpelerpeaeCope, 1859, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 11: 124. Implied tribe.

Thoriidae Cope, 1869, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 21: 110. Type Genus: Thorius Cope, 1869. Synonymy with Plethodontidae by Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 58.

ThoriinaeHay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 439.

SpelerpsidiAcloque, 1900, Fauna de France, 1: 491.

Typhlomolgidae Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 2. Type genus: Typhlomolge Stejneger, 1896.

HemidactyliiniWake, 1966, Mem. S. California Acad. Sci., 4: 50.

BolitoglossiniWake, 1966, Mem. S. California Acad. Sci., 4: 52.

HemidactyliinaeChippindale, Bonett, Baldwin, and Wiens, 2004, Evolution, 58: 2819; Macey, 2005, Cladistics, 21: 201.

BolitoglossinaeChippindale, Bonett, Baldwin, and Wiens, 2004, Evolution, 58: 2809–2822; Macey, 2005, Cladistics, 21: 194-202.

Spelerpinae — Chippindale, Bonett, Baldwin, and Wiens, 2004, Evolution, 58: 2819.  

SpelerpiniDubois, 2005, Alytes, 23: 20. Epifamily.

Batrachosepini Dubois, 2008, Zootaxa, 1771: 71. nomen nudum. 

Batrachosepita Dubois, 2008, Zootaxa, 1771: 73. nomen nudum. 

Batrachosepsini  Vieites, Nieto-Roman, Wake, and Wake, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 633. Nomen nudum.

BolitoglossiniVieites, Nieto-Roman, Wake, and Wake, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 633.

HemidactyliiniVieites, Nieto-Roman, Wake, and Wake, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 633.

SpelerpiniVieites, Nieto-Roman, Wake, and Wake, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 633. Tribe.

Batrachosepini Wake, 2012, Zootaxa, 3484: 76. Type genus: Batrachoseps Bonaparte, 1839, by original designation. Coined as a tribe.

Batrachosepini Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 115. Type genus: Batrachoseps Bonaparte, 1839, by original designation. Coined as a tribe. Synonymy with Batrachosepini Wake, 2012, by Dubois, 2012, Zootaxa, 3563: 66.

BatrachosepinaDubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161. Explicit subtribe.

SperlepinaDubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 143. Explicit subtribe.

Pseudotritonina Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 143. Explicit subtribe to contain Gyrinophilus and Pseudotriton.

EnsatiniDubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161. Explicit tribe.

Bolitoglossina — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 280. Subtribe. 

Bolitoglossinia — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 280. Infratribe. 

Bolitoglossinoa — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 280. Hypotribe. 

Isthmurinoa Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 280. Type genus: Isthmura Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012. Hypotribe. 

Isthmurites — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 281. Clan. 

Parvimolgites Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 281. Type genus: Parvimolge Taylor, 1944. Clan. 

Pseudoeuryceites Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 281. Type genus: Pseudoeurycea Taylor, 1944. 

Thoriinia — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 281. Infratribe. 

Thoriinoa — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 281. Hypotribe. 

Thornellinoa Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 282. Type genus: Thornella Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021. 

Dendrotritonites Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 282. Type genus: Dendrotriton Wake and Elias, 1983. Clan. 

Nyctanolites Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 282. Type genus: Nyctanolis Elias and Wake, 1983. 

Thornellites — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 282. Clan. 

Thornellities — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 283. Subclan. 

Bradytritonitoes Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 283. Type genus: Bradytriton Wake and Elias, 1983. Infraclan.  

Thornellitoes — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 283. Infraclan. 

Oedipinitues Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 283. Type genus: Oedipina Keferstein, 1868. Hypoclan. 

Thornellitues — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 283. Hypoclan. 

Nototritonities Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 284. Type genus: Nototriton Wake and Elias, 1983. Subclan. 

Hemidactylini — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 284. Tribe. 

Spelerpini — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 284. Tribe. 

Spelerpina — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 284. Subtribe. 

English Names

None noted.

Distribution

Fairly continuous from extreme southern Maine (USA), extreme southern Quebec (Canada), extreme southern Ontario (Canada), and northern Wisconsin (USA), southward to the Fall Line in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee (USA); presumably disjunct populations occur in Nova Scotia (Canada), Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, and northern Florida (USA); Western and southern North America south to Brazil.

Comment

See comment under Plethodontidae for discussion of taxonomic history. Superseded, but still useful literature on the phylogeny of the bolitoglossine group is that by Elias and Wake, 1983, in Rhodin and Miyata (eds.), Adv. Herpetol. Evol. Biol.: 1–12, and Wake and Elias, 1983, Contrib. Sci. Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Angeles Co., 345: 1–19. Sever, Heinz, Lempart, and Taghon, 1990, Herpetologica, 46: 431–446, discussed cloacal morphology with reference to bolitoglossine phylogenetics. Chippindale, Bonett, Baldwin, and Wiens, 2004, Evolution, 58: 2809-2822, considered Bolitoglossinae to be the sister taxon of Spelerpinae, while Macey, 2005, Cladistics, 21: 194–202, regarded Bolitoglossinae as the sister taxon of all plethodontids, excluding Hemidactyliinae. Wiens, Parra-Olea, García-París, and Wake, 2007, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, Biol. Sci., 274: 918–928, reported on the phylogenetics of bolitoglossines, assuming Batrachoseps as the root and excluding South American Bolitoglossa. Vieites, Min, and Wake, 2007, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104: 19903–19907, on the basis of nuDNA suggested that the bolitoglossines are the sister taxon of Spelerpinae and, together with Hemidactyliinae of Macey (2005) they included within an enlarged Hemidactyliinae. Chen, Wang, Liu, Xie, and Jiang, 2011, Curr. Zool., Chengdu, 57: 785–805, on the basis of 11 protein-coding mtDNA genes, suggested that Hemidactyliinae sensu Vieites et al., 2007, 2011, is paraphyletic with respect to Plethodontinae. Köhler, 2011, Amph. Cent. Am.: 36–92, provided a key to and very brief characterizations the species of Central America. Rovito and Parra-Olea, 2016, Copeia, 2016: 222–232, summarized current understanding of bolitoglossine biogeography in the Neotropics. Cázares-Hernández, Molohua Tzitzihua, Méndez Quiahua, Quiahua Colotl, Temoxtle Marquez, Rodriguez Merino, and Apale Pacheco, 2018, Tlaconetes: 1–92, reported on the bolitoglossines of the Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, Mexico. Segovia-Ramírez, Ramírez-Sánchez, Decena Segarra, Rios-Carlos, and Rovito, 2023, Ecol. Evol., 13(e10707): 1–18, reported on a comparative study of bolitoglossines (Aquiloeurycea, Bolitoglossa, Bradytriton, Chiropterotriton, Cryptotriton, Dendrotriton, Isthmura, Nyctanolis, Oedipina, Parvimolge, Pseudoeurycea, and Thorius) which suggests that coding loci may be more appropriate for genetic diversity estimates used in conservation planning. 

 

Contained taxa (397 sp.):

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