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Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan

Received: 5 October 2023    Accepted: 26 October 2023    Published: 11 November 2023
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Abstract

A new species of the genus Hynobius from the central part of Tohoku District, Japan, is described. Hynobius lichenatus was divided into three groups based on morphological and molecular analyses, and the boundaries of these groups were delineated. The central part of the Tohoku group was described as Hynobius senzanensis sp. nov., whereas populations from the southern part of Tohoku, the northern part of Kanto, and the eastern part of Hokuriku were resurrected as Hynobius unanngso. Morphometric comparisons revealed that H. lichenatus possesses significantly shorter vomerine teeth length in both sexes compared with the other two species. Additionally, H. lichenatus exhibited a significantly longer tail length compared with H. unanngso. Although the new species and H. unanngso shared similar morphology, they differed significant in the width of their vomerine teeth, and did not form a sister group as closest relatives. Following this taxonomic reassessment, H. lichenatus is now limited to the Tohoku area (comprising Aomori, Iwate, Akita, and Miyagi Prefectures). The boundary between H. lichenatus and the new species is located in the southern part of Akita Prefecture, along the Japan sea side, and the eastern part of Miyagi Prefecture, along the Pacific Ocean side. This study provides insights into the distribution ranges of the three species and a re-evaluation of their habitat status is crucial for their conservation.

Published in American Journal of Zoology (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12
Page(s) 26-45
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cryptic Species, Mitochondrial DNA, Ou Mountain Range, Species Boundary, Tohoku District

References
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    Sugawara, H., Fujiwara, A., Azuma, A., Sugawara, R., Kuraishi, M., et al. (2023). Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan. American Journal of Zoology, 6(2), 26-45. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12

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    ACS Style

    Sugawara, H.; Fujiwara, A.; Azuma, A.; Sugawara, R.; Kuraishi, M., et al. Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan. Am. J. Zool. 2023, 6(2), 26-45. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12

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    AMA Style

    Sugawara H, Fujiwara A, Azuma A, Sugawara R, Kuraishi M, et al. Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan. Am J Zool. 2023;6(2):26-45. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12,
      author = {Hirotaka Sugawara and Ayumi Fujiwara and Atsuki Azuma and Ryuichi Sugawara and Makoto Kuraishi and Masahiro Nagano},
      title = {Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan},
      journal = {American Journal of Zoology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {2},
      pages = {26-45},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajz.20230602.12},
      abstract = {A new species of the genus Hynobius from the central part of Tohoku District, Japan, is described. Hynobius lichenatus was divided into three groups based on morphological and molecular analyses, and the boundaries of these groups were delineated. The central part of the Tohoku group was described as Hynobius senzanensis sp. nov., whereas populations from the southern part of Tohoku, the northern part of Kanto, and the eastern part of Hokuriku were resurrected as Hynobius unanngso. Morphometric comparisons revealed that H. lichenatus possesses significantly shorter vomerine teeth length in both sexes compared with the other two species. Additionally, H. lichenatus exhibited a significantly longer tail length compared with H. unanngso. Although the new species and H. unanngso shared similar morphology, they differed significant in the width of their vomerine teeth, and did not form a sister group as closest relatives. Following this taxonomic reassessment, H. lichenatus is now limited to the Tohoku area (comprising Aomori, Iwate, Akita, and Miyagi Prefectures). The boundary between H. lichenatus and the new species is located in the southern part of Akita Prefecture, along the Japan sea side, and the eastern part of Miyagi Prefecture, along the Pacific Ocean side. This study provides insights into the distribution ranges of the three species and a re-evaluation of their habitat status is crucial for their conservation.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Taxonomic Reinvestigation of Hynobius lichenatus: Description of a New Species and Resurrection of a Previously Described Species from Eastern Japan
    AU  - Hirotaka Sugawara
    AU  - Ayumi Fujiwara
    AU  - Atsuki Azuma
    AU  - Ryuichi Sugawara
    AU  - Makoto Kuraishi
    AU  - Masahiro Nagano
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    PY  - 2023
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12
    T2  - American Journal of Zoology
    JF  - American Journal of Zoology
    JO  - American Journal of Zoology
    SP  - 26
    EP  - 45
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2994-7413
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20230602.12
    AB  - A new species of the genus Hynobius from the central part of Tohoku District, Japan, is described. Hynobius lichenatus was divided into three groups based on morphological and molecular analyses, and the boundaries of these groups were delineated. The central part of the Tohoku group was described as Hynobius senzanensis sp. nov., whereas populations from the southern part of Tohoku, the northern part of Kanto, and the eastern part of Hokuriku were resurrected as Hynobius unanngso. Morphometric comparisons revealed that H. lichenatus possesses significantly shorter vomerine teeth length in both sexes compared with the other two species. Additionally, H. lichenatus exhibited a significantly longer tail length compared with H. unanngso. Although the new species and H. unanngso shared similar morphology, they differed significant in the width of their vomerine teeth, and did not form a sister group as closest relatives. Following this taxonomic reassessment, H. lichenatus is now limited to the Tohoku area (comprising Aomori, Iwate, Akita, and Miyagi Prefectures). The boundary between H. lichenatus and the new species is located in the southern part of Akita Prefecture, along the Japan sea side, and the eastern part of Miyagi Prefecture, along the Pacific Ocean side. This study provides insights into the distribution ranges of the three species and a re-evaluation of their habitat status is crucial for their conservation.
    
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Science and Technology, Kochi University, Kochi City, Japan

  • Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, Sendai City, Japan

  • Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka City, Japan

  • Independent Researcher, Yurihonjo City, Japan

  • Marine Science Museum, Fukushima Prefecture, Iwaki City, Japan

  • Faculty of Science and Technology, Oita University, Oita City, Japan

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