Triton porphyriticus

Triton porphyriticus (Green, 1827)

Holbrook (1842e:83, pl. 28) gave another brief description of a species he had not seen, the Spring Salamander ( Gyrinophilus porphyriticus). The crude drawing by J. Queen was copied from T. R. Peale’s original syntype illustration from Green (1827), which we conclude to be USNM 3840 (see Pyron and Beamer 2020). Our examination revealed USNM 3840 to be in extremely poor condition, with the body broken in half, the tail fragmented, both front legs broken off and possibly missing, and many layers of tissue separating and delaminating throughout the specimen. We did not photograph it. However, the diagnostic canthus rostralis is still clearly visible. In addition, the arrangement of the remaining pieces of the specimen still appear to conform to Peale’s illustration of a primary syntype in several key respects. Specifically, the body maintains a distinctive semi-circular curve to the left, and the two rear legs are adpressed to the tail. Additionally, the toes of the left foot are intact and uniquely arranged together, pointing in the same direction in a straight line with the lower leg.

Thus, contrary to Brandon (1966), an original primary type is known, and thus MCZ A-35778 is disregarded as the neotype in favor of USNM 3840, which we designate as the lectotype. The location and disposition of the other primary syntypes is unknown. Brandon (1966) reported his efforts to locate Green’s specimen in Philadelphia, but was unaware of the existence of Green’s material in Washington. See Pyron and Beamer (2020) for additional historical details on this specimen, Green’s collections, and their disposition at the ANSP and NMNH. As noted above, Holbrook was more familiar with this species under the junior subjective synonym Salamandra salmonea Storer in Holbrook 1838b. Curiously, Queen’s copy of Peale’s original illustration omits the obvious canthus rostralis, a conspicuous diagnostic feature for this species, while T. W. Hill’s drawing of S. salmonea included it distinctly.