Registros adicionales recientes, distribución potencial y notas sobre el hábitat y ecología de la salamandra saltarina negra Ixalotriton niger (Caudata: Plethodontidae)

The description of the black jumping salamander (Ixalotriton niger) was based on an adult female of the type locality referred as 12 km (7.5 mi) NW Berriozábal, Chiapas, Mexico, 1068 m altitude, collected on December 26, 1980 by Jerry D. Johnson (Wake and Johnson, 1989). Two decades later, in 2000, specimens of this species were recorded in the town (Parra-Olea et al., 2008; Lamoreux et al., 2014.). During the period 2001-2010, some research groups made several visits to the type locality in search of specimens of the species, without success, to the extent considered locally extinct. As a result of two research projects conducted in the study area during the period 2011-2013, we find additional specimens that represent recent records of the species both in the type locality, in two places very close to the town, as well as Tierra y Libertad. eng

Based on existing records, the potential distribution of Ixalotriton niger covers an area larger physiographic region in the northern mountains. The species lives in caves and conducts its busiest afternoon. Because Ixalotriton niger is a species endemic to Chiapas, and the only species of amphibian in the entity considered endangered (P) in the Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, and critically endangered (CR) according the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), we consider a priority conservation. eng