Hynobius fuca Lai & Lue, 2008
This is a newly discovered species, so little information is known regarding its conservation status. Distribution is very local and populations are small, making this as well as the other Taiwanese Hynobius species vulnerable to habitat destruction and degradation. Currently all five salamander species in Taiwan are protected by the Wildlife Conservation Law.
Short and robust salamander with short tail. Limbs short, four fingers and four toes. Body blackish-brown with white speckles. Among Taiwanese species, H. fuca is similar to H. formosanus in size, brownish dorsal color, toe number, short limbs and tail, but H. formosanus has yellowish brown blotches on dorsum while H. fuca has none.
The following description is summarized from the original description by Lai & Lue (2008). Medium-sized species. Head, body and tail are cylindrical, with neck inconspicuous. Head relatively narrow. Interorbital distance is larger than internarial distance. Vomerine teeth are V-shaped. Trunk robust and short. 11-12, normally 11, costal grooves. Tail short and thick, laterally flattened at the tip. Tail shorter than snout-vent length. Limbs are short relative to trunk, with two costal grooves between adpressed limbs. Four hind limb toes. Color of dorsal side is blackish brown, fading toward ventral side. Flank and ventral sides brown. Body marked with white speckles or small blotches. Markings around eyes. Color differences among individuals only in the amount of white speckles.
All measurements are from Lai & Lue (2008).
Male (4 specimens). Snout-vent length: 48.1–53.4 mm; Tail length: 26–32.2 mm; Head length: 9.8–12.8 mm; Head width: 7–9.2 mm; forelimb length: 8–11.3 mm; hind-limb length: 11.7–13.2 mm.
Female (3 specimens). Snout-vent length: 50.8–54.8 mm; Tail length: 30.1–34 mm; Head length: 11.9–13.5 mm; Head width: 7.3–8.3 mm; forelimb length: 9.8–10.9 mm; hind-limb length: 10.5–12.9 mm.
Hynobius fuca is recovered as the sister taxon to all other Taiwanese hynobiids based on mitochondrial DNA data (Lai & Lue 2008). It is also distinct from congeners in allozyme analysis (Lue & Lai, 1997).
Hynobius fuca is known from only four locations in the central and northern part of the Syueshan Mountain Range. Altitudinal distribution 1,300 to 1,720 m above sea level, the lowest among Taiwanese species. Its range does not overlap with that of the other Taiwanese salamanders (Lai & Lue, 2008).
This species, like the other Taiwanese Hynobius species, occurs in montane areas with low temperatures, high annual precipitation, little disturbance and high humidity. Hynobius fuca lives on densely shaded, moist forest floors of redwood and mixed coniferous forest, and is found along mountain creeks or under rocks or rotting wood. Population size appears to be small. Specimens are hard to find (Lai & Lue, 2008).