Triturus marmoratus harmannis, Arntzen, 2024

Arntzen, Jan W., 2024, A subspecies of marbled newt (Triturus marmoratus) in the Iberian Peninsula newly resolved from congruent nuclear and mitochondrial DNA data, Contributions to Zoology 93, pp. 252-267 : 264-267

Description of Triturus marmoratus harmannis ssp. nov.

Descriptions were made from preserved material, except for the Nlinks character state that was determined in the field. Dorsal colouration invariably dark, yet with the green colouration pattern discernible. Morphological data retrieved for a series of live animals are in Table A1 .

Description of type specimen – preserved on ethanol in excellent storage condition at the ‘Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales’, Madrid, Spain under catalogue number MNCN 51792. Adult male in breeding condition with a well-developed crest and a large back cloaca. Thirteen crème-white bands over the head and body part of the crest. SVl1 64.5 mm, SVl2 73.5 mm, ILd 32.5 mm, FLl 28.3 mm, TFl 8.5 mm, HLl 28.1 mm, FTl 11.6 mm, Hw 14.1 mm and Hl 19.7 mm.Total length 136.5 mm.Relative finger lengths 1<4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1<5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 0, right 0, total 0. Solid dark grey ventral colouration with many more or less evenly distributed white spots, denser in the middle part than towards the gular and cloacal regions. Throat region light grey with many small white dots. Underside of the legs and cloacal region with light and dark regions. The holotype is shown in fig. A1. A three-dimensional model of the entire skeleton of the type specimen obtained with CT-scanning is available for inspection at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25358890, courtesy of Dr. Tijana Vučić’.

Description of paratypes – Preserved on ethanol in excellent storage condition at the ‘Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales’, Madrid, Spain.

First paratype MNCN 51793. Adult male in breeding condition with a well-developed crest and a large back cloaca. Seventeen crème-white bands over the head and body part of the crest. SVl1 65.0 mm, SVl2 73.5 mm, ILd 34.0 mm, FLl 26.2 mm, TFl 9.3 mm, HLl 27.0 mm, FTl 11.5 mm, Hw 13.6 mm and Hl 19.9 mm. Total length 135 mm. Relative finger lengths 1=4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1<5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 0, right 1, total 1. Grey ventral colouration with many dark dots.

Many white spots mostly positioned on the undotted sections. Colour of the throat continuous with that of the belly. Underside of the legs and cloacal region with light and dark regions.

Second paratype MNCN 51794. Adult male in breeding condition with a low crest and a large back cloaca. Eleven crème-white bands over the head and body part of the low crest. SVl1 56.5 mm, SVl2 64.0 mm, ILd 28.5 mm, FLl 23.4 mm, TFl 7.7 mm, HLl 23.6 mm, FTl 9.6 mm, Hw 12.6 mm and Hl 17.7 mm. Total length 118 mm. Tail tip regenerating. Relative finger lengths 1<4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1<5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 1, right 2, total 3. Solid black ventral colouration with many, evenly distributed small white spots. Throat colouration continuous with belly with equally dense but larger white spots. Underside of the legs and cloacal region light with few dark regions.

Third paratype MNCN 51795. Adult female in breeding condition with ovaries shining through. SVl1 64.0 mm, SVl2 70.0 mm, ILd 33.0 mm, FLl 25.1 mm, TFl 8.3 mm, HLl 23.7 mm, FTl 7.6 mm, Hw 14.5 mm and Hl 19.6 mm. Total length 140.5 mm. Relative finger lengths 1<4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1=5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 2, right 2, total 4. Solid, medium-grey ventral colouration with few, evenly distributed small white spots. Throat coloration continuous with that of the belly. Underside of the legs and cloacal region solid light grey.

Fourth paratype MNCN 51796. Adult female in breeding condition with ovaries shining through. SVl1 73.0 mm, SVl2 79.5 mm, ILd 39.5 mm, FLl 28.1 mm, TFl 9.3 mm, HLl 26.4 mm, FTl 8.8 mm, Hw 16.5 mm and Hl 21.7 mm. Total length 149 mm. Relative finger lengths 1<4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1<5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 0, right 0, total 0. Dark grey ventral colouration with few small dark dots and few white spots. Colouration of throat continuous with belly. Underside of the legs and cloacal region light with few dark regions.

Fifth paratype MNCN 51797. Adult female in breeding condition with ovaries shining through. SVl1 71.0 mm, SVl2 77.5 mm, ILd 37.5 mm, FLl 27.4 mm, TFl 9.1 mm, HLl 26.0 mm, FTl 7.2 mm, Hw 15.4 mm and Hl 22.2 mm. Total length 150.5 mm. Relative finger lengths 1=4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1=5<2<4<3. Nlinks left 1, right 2, total 3. Light grey ventral colouration with large dark dots and few white spots towards the flanks. Colouration of throat continuous with belly. Underside of the legs and cloacal region light with few dark regions.

Sixth paratype MNCN 51798. Adult female in breeding condition with ovaries shining through. SVl1 72.0 mm, SVl2 78.5 mm, ILd 38.5 mm, FLl 28.0 mm, TFl 9.0 mm, HLl 27.2 mm, FTl 8.7 mm, Hw 16.1 mm and Hl 21.1 mm. Total length 146 mm. Relative finger lengths 1=4<2<3. Relative toe lengths 1<5<2<3=4. Nlinks left 2, right 2, total 4. Light grey ventral colouration with medium number of large dark dots and few white spots. Colouration of throat continuous with belly. Underside of the legs and cloacal region light with few dark regions.

Locality and date of collecting – Arrochela, near Madeirã, Portugal at 39.9386northern latitude and 8.1025 western longitude. Elevation 396 m a.s.l. Date of collecting 20 March 2013, leg. J. W. Arntzen. Date of deposition at MNCN 16 August 2023.

Diagnostic features – the newly recognized subspecies is closely related to and morphometrically similar to T. m. marmoratus , yet at the population level characterized by a lower number of green coloured dorso-lateral transversal bands (‘links’). In comparison with T. m. marmoratus , it has a small body size, significantly shorter extremities in females and a relatively big head in both sexes. The distinctiveness of the subspecies is supported by nuclear and mitochondrial DNA data.

Derivatio nominis – the subspecies name is chosen to commemorate the Dutch couple Harm and Annie (or Ann) Walen, who lived from 1926‒2005 (Mr. H. C. Walen) and 1928‒ 2018 (Mrs. A. A. van Silfhout). After Harm’s retirement from his taxidermist job at the Zoological Museum in Amsterdam, the twosome eventually landed in Nisa, Portugal where they constructed their own ‘quinta’ and felt enormously at place. Without ‘harmann’s’ hospitality and moral support, my extensive fieldwork in Portugal and adjacent Spain late last century would hardly have been sustainable. The new subspecies’ name refers to a lifelong couple and only indirectly to individual people so that, matrimony being gender neutral, the third declension is used.

Suggested vernacular name – Harmann’s marbled newt, or central Iberian marbled newt Distribution – central-western Iberia. The southern range border is determined by a sharp, parapatric, yet mosaic range border with two pygmy newt species, namely T. rudolfi in the west and T. pygmaeus in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. The northern edge of the range is positioned at ca. 41.5 N. The transition area with the nominotypical subspecies may be wide.

Nomenclatorial act – the electronic ‘on-line early’ version of this article is considered a published work according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The new name has also been registered in ZooBank (http://zoobank.org/) where it can be accessed under http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6DE32B0B-FB92-4F45-80BB-15EBC49DD23E .