A MORPHOLOGICALLY DISTINCT NEW SPECIES OF PSEUDOEURYCEA (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE) FROM THE SIERRA MADRE ORIENTAL OF PUEBLA, MÉXICO

Abstract: A new species of Pseudoeurycea is described from cloud forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental of Puebla, México. The new species is distinguished from all other Pseudoeurycea by its small size, stout body, short tail, large nostrils, presence of characteristic glandular convergent ridges on the pelvic region and the tail, and by its distinctive limb structure, with very small hands and feet that are extensively webbed and bear prominent but short and pointy middle digits. The only apparent close relative of this species is P. praecellens, from which it differs by the position and distribution of the dorsal and caudal glands, body proportions, nostril size and coloration. All specimens of the new species were found in cloud forest, under a canopy of Liquidambar, Quercus, and arborescent ferns, as well as in a coffee grove. The elevational range for the species is narrow, between 905 and 1400 m, unusually low elevations for Pseudoeurycea.