| Fire belly newts | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Salamandridae |
| Subfamily: | Pleurodelinae |
| Genus: | Cynops Tschudi, 1839 |
The fire belly newt or fire newt is a genus (Cynops) of newts native to Japan and China. All of the species show bright yellow or red bellies, but this feature is not unique to this genus. Their skin contains a toxin that can be harmful if ingested.
Species recognized as of October 2019: [1]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cynops chenggongensis Kou and Xing, 1983 | Chenggong fire belly newt* | Chenggong District of Yunnan | |
 | Cynops cyanurus Liu, Hu, and Yang, 1962 | Chuxiong fire-bellied newt or blue-tailed fire belly newt* | Guizhou and Yunnan |
 | Cynops ensicauda (Hallowell, 1861) | Okinawan sword-tail newt | Ryukyu Archipelago in Japan |
| Cynops fudingensis Wu, Wang, Jiang, and Hanken, 2010 | Fuding fire belly newt* | Fuding in northeastern Fujian, | |
| Cynops glaucus Yuan, Jiang, Ding, Zhang, and Che, 2013 | Guangdong, China. | ||
 | Cynops orientalis (David, 1873) | Chinese fire belly newt* | China |
| Cynops orphicus Risch, 1983 | Dayang newt or Dayang fire belly newt* | Jiexi County in eastern Guangdong | |
 | Cynops pyrrhogaster (Boie, 1826) | Japanese fire belly newt | Japan |
 | Cynops wolterstorffi (Boulenger, 1905) | Yunnan lake newt* | Yunnan, China |
| Cynops yunnanensis Yang, 1983 | Yunnan, China | ||
(A * means that the newt has been moved into the genus Hypselotriton in some classifications [2] [3] )
The genus Cynops has been suggested to be due for a split, with the Chinese species being placed in a separate genus from the Japanese ones. [4] The species Cynops cyanurus is at the centre of all this. There is much debate about the validity of C. cyanurus and C. chenggongensis . All the known captive animals could be something different from C. cyanurus, as they do not entirely match the original description of the species. [ citation needed ] The only known animals that match that are animals originating from Chemnitz Zoo, but the F2 animals have not bred well, which could suggest they are in fact a hybrid of C. cyanurus and C. chenggongensis or an undescribed Cynops species. [ citation needed ]
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela from the group Caudata. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.
Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough skin. Their skin is very granular because of the number of poison glands. They also lack nasolabial grooves. Most species of Salamandridae have moveable eyelids but lack lacrimal glands.
The sword-tail newt, sword-tailed newt, yellow-bellied newt, or Okinawa newt is a species of true salamander from the Ryukyu Archipelago in Japan.
The Chinese fire belly newt is a small black newt, with bright-orange aposematic coloration on their ventral sides. C. orientalis is commonly seen in pet stores, where it is frequently confused with the Japanese fire belly newt due to similarities in size and coloration. C. orientalis typically exhibits smoother skin and a rounder tail than C. pyrrhogaster, and has less obvious parotoid glands. C. orientalis is native to subtropical forests in China and prefers to live in shallow, semiaquatic environments such as abandoned paddies and ponds with dense vegetation.
The Japanese fire-bellied newt or Japanese fire-bellied salamander is a species of newt endemic to Japan. The skin on its upper body is dark and its lower regions bright red, although coloration varies with age, genetics, and region. Adults are 8 to 15 cm long. To deter predators, Japanese fire-bellied newts contain high levels of tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin accumulated mainly from their diet.
The genus Taricha consists of four species of highly toxic newts in the family Salamandridae. Their common name is Pacific newts, sometimes also western newts or roughskin newts. The four species within this genus are the California newt, the rough-skinned newt, the red-bellied newt, and the sierra newt, all of which are found on the Pacific coastal region from southern Alaska to southern California, with one species possibly ranging into northern Baja California, Mexico.
The rough-skinned newt or roughskin newt is a North American newt known for the strong toxin exuded from its skin.
The California newt or orange-bellied newt, is a species of newt endemic to California, in the Western United States. Its adult length can range from 5 to 8 in. Its skin produces the potent toxin tetrodotoxin.
Tylototriton shanjing, the emperor newt, Mandarin newt or Mandarin salamander, is a highly toxic newt native to Yunnan and parts of South China. It is sometimes seen in private collections, and is sometimes available for sale at certain reptile and amphibian-specializing pet stores and occasionally through captive breeders.
The Chuxiong fire-bellied newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae that is endemic to China where it is only found in Guizhou and Yunnan. It also occurs in Kunming Lake.
The Dayang newt is a rare species of salamander in the family Salamandridae, endemic to China. It is known from Jiexi County in eastern Guangdong from where it was collected in 1936 and described as a new species in 1983. More recently, it has also been found from Dehua County in central Fujian.
Neurergus is a genus of salamanders, more specifically newts, in the family Salamandridae. They are found in the Middle East, and are kept and bred in captivity for their bright colors. In nature, they inhabit streams and small rivers, and the surrounding forests or shrublands. All of the Neurergus are considered threatened species, primarily due to destruction of habitat and overcollection for the pet trade.
Neurergus kaiseri, the Luristan newt, Kaiser's mountain newt, Kaiser's spotted newt or emperor spotted newt, is a species of very colourful salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to the southern Zagros Mountains in Iran where it is known from just four streams. Populations of this newt have been declining and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as "vulnerable". A captive breeding programme has been established in several zoos.
Paramesotriton, also known as warty newts or Asian warty newts, is a genus of salamanders in the family Salamandridae. The genus is found in southwestern and southern China and in northern Vietnam. Most of the species are endemic to China, and the majority of them have been described recently, since 2008. The genus includes both pond and stream dwellers.
A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts, however. More than 100 known species of newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.
The Fuding fire belly newt is a rare species of newt in the family Salamandridae, endemic to China. It is only known from Fuding in northeastern Fujian, from the locality where it was described as a new species in 2010. Although it is genetically similar to the Chinese fire belly newt, it is morphologically more similar to the Dayang fire belly newt. The range of C. fudingensis is separate from both other species.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is a pathogenic chytrid fungus that infects amphibian species. Although salamanders and newts seem to be the most susceptible, some anuran species are also affected. Bsal has emerged recently and poses a major threat to species in Europe and North America.
Daazvirus is a genus of viruses in the realm Ribozyviria, containing the single species Daazvirus cynopis.
Media related to Cynops at Wikimedia Commons