The Italian peninsula boasts the highest urodele endemism in Europe, yet some aspects of the paleobiogeography of these amphibians in the region remains poorly understood. This is largely due to the scarcity of fossil records and the limited scope of comparative osteological studies. Most research has focused on vertebrae, humeri, and otic-occipital complexes, typically restricted to a few taxa. In contrast, tooth-bearing skeletal elements—despite being common and highly resistant in the fossil record—have been largely overlooked. These elements, including premaxillae, maxillae, dentaries, and vomers, exhibit significant morphological variation across species, making them valuable diagnostic tools, especially at the genus level.

An upcoming paper in Acta Herpetologica provides a comprehensive analysis of dentigerous skeletal elements in the Italian urodele fossil record, examining 560 disarticulated bones from 70 specimens. The study encompasses 13 of the 19 currently recognized species in Italy, representing 2 families and 7 genera. The material, sourced from the herpetological collections of the Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia dell'Università di Torino and the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino, offers new insights into urodele osteology.

The morphological analysis revealed that premaxillae, maxillae, and vomers possess consistent diagnostic features, useful for genus and, in some cases, species identification. Dentaries, however, showed high variability both within and between species, making them less reliable for taxonomic purposes. This research enriches current knowledge of the osteology of Italian urodeles and has been instrumental in developing new dichotomous keys, facilitating the identification of most Italian urodeles to the genus or species level.

Preview the full paper here. 

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