描述Diagnosis: Paramesotriton ermizhaoi is assigned to the genus Paramesotriton because of its slender and
nearly straight epibranchial bones, maxillary bones oriented angular to the body axis, and laterally
compressed tail. This species can be diagnosed from other congeners by the following combination of
characters: skin relatively smooth; granular warts absent on head and body; vertebral ridge not prominent;
head depressed and nearly flat in profile; habitus slender and depressed; limbs short!awhen adpressed agains
flank, fingers and toes hardly meet; dorsum olive brown with irregular black flecks; ventral orange-red
blotches irregular in shape.
Description of the holotype: A slender and flat newt, preserved with mouth open. Head oval in shape,
depressed and nearly flat in profile. Snout truncate and slightly projecting beyond lower mandible. Nostrils
close to snout tip. Labial fold evident throughout posterior half of upper jaw. Skull relatively narrow, with
maxillary bones oriented angular to body axis. Maxillary tips lie anterior and lateral to pterygoid bones; no
contact between maxillary and pterygoid. Fronto-squamosal arch complete but not very robust. Epibranchial
|-shaped, tooth rows
bones slender, nearly straight, only slightly flared dorsally. Vomerine tooth patch
converging anteriorly and exceeding the anterior limit of choanae. Tongue adhering to mouth floor with free
lateral margins. Parotoid region evident, but not enlarged. Gill filaments absent. Gular fold present. Skin
relatively smooth on head and body, with small transverse wrinkles. Vertebral ridge thin, slightly elevated.
Lateral dorsal ridge absent. Thirteen trunk vertebrae. Four fingers, five toes, without webbing. Tail laterally
compressed; posterior dorsal caudal fin evident, ventral caudal fin indistinct; tail extremity round in profile.
Cloaca swollen, with a few papillae near posterior limit.
Color of holotype in life: Dorsum olive brown with irregular black flecks. Vertebral ridge with orange
tint. Venter paler brown. Irregular orange-red blotches on venter and anterior portion of cloaca with indistinct
black margin; some blotches connected into short irregular stripes. Orange-red on underside of tail.
In preservative, dorsum and venter black. Vertebral ridge inconspicuous. Ventral bright orange fading to
yellow to milky white; black margins invisible.