NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-spotted Newt
Notophthalmus meridionalis (Cope, 1880)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Black-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis), Class, Amphibia: Order, Caudata: Family, Salamandridae. This specimen was photographed in an educational aquarium display at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA, on 14 April 2016. Presumably the specimen came from a population in the vicinity of the Refuge (26.0821°N, 98.1354°W, 32 m.), however this is speculative. William L. Farr
William L. Farr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Notophthalmus meridionalis, the black-spotted newt or Texas newt, is a species of aquatic newt native to northeastern Mexico and southern Texas in the United States. This amphibian was put on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species in 2008 with populations still decreasing. It was reclassified to Vulnerable in 2022.
Wikipedia contributors, Notophthalmus meridionalis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:20:14.579520+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Notophthalmus meridionalis (Cope, 1880)
- Name authority
- (Cope, 1880)
- Common name
- Black-spotted Newt
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Salamandridae
- Genus
- Notophthalmus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familySalamandridae Goldfuss, 1820
- subfamilyPleurodelinae Tschudi, 1838
- genusNotophthalmus Rafinesque, 1820
- speciesNotophthalmus meridionalis (Cope, 1880)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Notophthalmus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Striped NewtNotophthalmus perstriatus (Bishop, 1941) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern NewtNotophthalmus viridescens (Rafinesque, 1820) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Diemictylus meridionalis Cope, 1880 Cope, 1880 | synonym |
| Diemyctylus meridionalis Cope, 1880 Cope, 1880 | synonym |
| Triturus kallerti (Wolterstorff, 1930) (Wolterstorff, 1930) | synonym |
| Diemictylus miniatus meridionalis Cope, 1880 Cope, 1880 | synonym |
| Diemyctylus kallerti Wolterstorff, 1930 Wolterstorff, 1930 | synonym |
| Molge meridionalis (Cope, 1880) (Cope, 1880) | synonym |
| Triturus meridionalis (Cope, 1880) (Cope, 1880) | synonym |
| Diemyctylus viridescens meridionalis Cope, 1880 Cope, 1880 | synonym |
| Notophthalmus meridionalis kallerti (Wolterstorff, 1930) (Wolterstorff, 1930) | synonym |
| Notophthalmus meridionalis meridionalis (Cope, 1880) (Cope, 1880) | synonym |
| Notophthalmus viridescens kallerti (Wolterstorff, 1930) (Wolterstorff, 1930) | synonym |
| Notophthalmus kallerti (Wolterstorff, 1930) (Wolterstorff, 1930) | synonym |
| Diemyctylus miniatus meridionalis Cope, 1880 Cope, 1880 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173617 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:47XFV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.