Scientists solve Manipur salamander ‘puzzle’

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Last Updated18/08/2023

Recently, a team of scientists recorded a new species of salamander, the Tylototriton zaimeng, in the Zaimeng Lake of Manipur.
The study on the new salamander has been published in the latest edition of OGH Herpetozoa brought out by the Austrian Herpetological Society.

It had earlier been mistaken for its close relatives viz. the T. himalayanus and the T. verrucosus.
Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the new salamander is a sister species of the T. panwaensis and T. houi found in northern Myanmar and southern China respectively.

It was found to be a medium-sized salamander.
Its head is massive and wide, with a rounded snout and protruding supratemporal bony ridges, a well-developed sagittal ridge adorns its crown.
Its limbs are short and elegantly formed and do not overlap when adpressed along its body.
A wide and unsegmented vertebral ridge ran along its back, accompanied by 13-14 pairs of rib nodules marking a clear distinction from its kin.
It displayed a stunning brown colouration, embellished with dull orange to yellowish-brown markings on its head, vertebral ridge, rib nodules, palms, soles, vent, and ventral tail ridge.
Vomerine teeth, elegantly organized in two distinctly curved bell-shaped series, further differentiated it.

It is situated on top of Khongthang mountain ranges.
Zaimeng in the Liangmai Naga dialect means “puzzle” or “mystery”.
The greater part of the lake is basically a marshy mass of thick grass like weeds, mixed with reeds and green mosses.