Onychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Hynobiidae > Subfamily: Onychodactylinae > Genus: Onychodactylus > Species: Onychodactylus fischeri

Geomolge fischeri Boulenger, 1886, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1886: 416. Syntypes: BMNH 1886.5.15.11–12 (now 1947.9.7.70–71), according to Borkin, 1994, in Vorobyeva and Darevsky (eds.), Siberskii uglozub (Salamandrella keyserlingii Dybowski, 1870): 81, Kuzmin and Maslova, 2005, Zemnovodnye rossiyskogo Dalnego Vostoka [Amphibians of the Russian Far East]: 88–90. Type locality: "Chaborowska [= Khabarovsk], on the River Ussuri, Manchuria", Russia. Borkin, 1994, in Vorobyeva and Darevsky (eds.), Siberskii uglozub (Salamandrella keyserlingii Dybowski, 1870): 81, and Kuzmin, 1995, Clawed Salamanders of Asia (genus Onychodactylus): XXX, considered the stated type locality to be erroneous, with the collection locality most likely being in the upper Ussir basin, at least 450 km south-southwest of Khabarovsk.

Onychodactylus rossicus Nikolskii, 1914 "1912", Trudy Troitskosavsko-Kiakht. Otd. Obstsch., 15: 28. Syntypes: 4 examples, deposition not noted, presumably ZISP. Borkin, 1994, in Vorobyeva and Darevsky (eds.), Siberskii uglozub (Salamandrella keyserlingii Dybowski, 1870): 82, considered the types to include ZISP 2440, one specimen in the Zool. Mus. Kharkov Univ., and two specimens in the former Museum of Troitskosavsk-Kyakhta Branch of Russian Geographical Society. ZISP 1482.1–4 (4 specimens) regarded as syntypes by Milto and Barabanov, 2011, Russ. J. Herpetol., 18: 139. Type locality: "Primorskoi Oblasti" [transliteration], Russia. Given as "prope sinus Ussuriiensem Sibiriae orientalis" by Nikolskii, 1914 "1913", Annu. Mus. Zool. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, 18: 260. Given as "small mountain river at about 21–32 km (20–30 verst from the Bay of Kangauz, Primorye Region, Russia)" by Borkin, 1994, in Vorobyeva and Darevsky (eds.), Siberskii uglozub (Salamandrella keyserlingii Dybowski, 1870): 81. Terentjev and Chernov, 1949, Opredelitel' presmykayushchikhsya i zemnovodnykh: 58; Dunn, 1923, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 58: 523, noted that this as the original description and not that of Nikolskii, 1914 "1913", Annu. Mus. Zool. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, 18: 260. Synonymy by Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 455; Thorn, 1968, Salamand. Eur. Asie Afr. Nord: 99.

Onychodactylus russicus — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 455. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Onychodactylus fischeri — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 454.

Nychodactylus fischeri — Dunn, 1923, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 58: 513. Typographical error.

Onychodactylus (Geomolge) fischeri — Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161.

Common Names

Fischer's Clawed Salamander (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 28; Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 32).

Russian Clawed Salamander (Kuzmin and Maslova, 2005, Zemnovodnye rossiyskogo Dalnego Vostoka [Amphibians of the Russian Far East]: 29).

Long-tailed Salamander (Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 21; Kuzmin, 1995, Clawed Salamanders of Asia (genus Onychodactylus): 4).

Distribution

Mountainous forest regions of the Sikhote-Alin Mountains (Primorye Territory, Russia), southwards from the Zerkalnaya River Valley (Lazovskiy, Partizanskiy, Shkotovskiy, Chuguyevskiy, Olginskiy, Nadezhdinskiy, Ussuriyskiy, Anuchinskiy and Kavalerovskiy districts) into northeastern P.D.R. Korea. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Korea, Democratic People's Republic (North), Russia

Comment

Yoshikawa, Matsui, Nishikawa, Kim, and Kryukov, 2008, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 49: 249–259, presented molecular data that suggested that this nominal taxon is composed of several cryptic species. Poyarkov, Che, Min, Kuro-o, Yan, Li, Iizuka, and Vieites, 2012, Zootaxa, 3465: 1–106, redelimited the species, discussed the relevant literature, and restricted its range to Far East Russia. Kuzmin, 2013, Amph. Former Soviet Union, Ed. 2: 62–65, provided an account. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 46–47, provided a brief account. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 107–109, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species. Dot map and discussion of status for North Korea provided by Song, 2016, J. Natl. Park Res., Rep. Korea, 7: 211–217. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 28–30, provided a detailed account of morphology, life history, as well as providing a photograph, distribution map (that excluded North Korea, suggesting doubt on the record of Song et al., 2016), and conservation status. Borzée, 2024, Continental NE Asian Amph.: 148–152, provided a detailed account (distribution including a polygon map, habitat, ecology, conservation, photos of larvae and adults, identification tools) for northeastern Asia.     

External links:

Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.