Description
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.
Colour 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. Colour differences among individuals only in the amount of white speckles.
Total length 7-9 cm.
Diagnosis
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 colour, toe number, short limbs and tail, but H. formosanus has yellowish brown blotches on dorsum while H. fuca has none.
Eggs and larvae
Eggs and larvae have not been described.
Distribution
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 (Chang, 2010).
Habitat
This species, like the other Taiwanese Hynobius species, occurs in montane areas with low temperatures, high annual precipitation, little disturbance and high humidity. H. 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.
Behaviour
There is no information on breeding behaviour. The animals probably reproduce in the creeks during the dry season, from November to April.
Threats and conservation
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.
Observations in captivity
There are no reports of captive maintenance of this species.
Comments
Hynobiid salamanders reach the southern boundary of their distribution in Taiwan. The Taiwanese species of Hynobius are endemic to the island and their population sizes are extremely small (Lue et al., 1989). Presently five species are recognized, which are distinguished genetically and morphologically (Hynobius sonani, H. formosanus, H. arisanensis, H. fuca and H. glacialis). Hynobius fuca is the smallest, darkest and most robust among the Taiwanese species and occurs at the lowest elevation.
