Italian cave salamander

Last updated

Italian cave salamander
BennyTrapp Speleomantes italicus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Subfamily: Plethodontinae
Genus: Speleomantes
Species:
S. italicus
Binomial name
Speleomantes italicus
(Dunn, 1923)
Speleomantes italicus dis.png
Synonyms

Hydromantes italicusDunn, 1923

The Italian cave salamander (Speleomantes italicus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. Endemic to Italy, its natural habitats are temperate forests, rocky areas, caves, and subterranean habitats (other than caves). It is threatened by habitat loss.

Contents

Description

The Italian cave salamander is a slender species with short limbs and grows to a length of about 12.5 cm (5 in) including a short tail. The head is broad with prominent eyes and there is a distinct groove between the nostrils and the edge of the lips. The feet are partially webbed. It is dark in colour with mottled reddish or yellowish markings and a dark belly. In the north of its range it is more variable in colour and sometimes hybridises with Ambrosi's cave salamander (Speleomantes ambrosii). [2]

Distribution and habitat

The Italian cave salamander is native to northern Italy where it is found in the northern and central Apennine Mountains. Its range extends from the Province of Lucca and Province of Reggio Emilia southwards to the Province of Pescara. It is found in wooded valleys, on rocky outcrops and in caves and underground waters, often in limestone areas, at altitudes of up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level. [1]

An introduced population of this salamander exists in an abandoned quarry in a beech forest near Holzminden, Germany. It is hypothesized that the salamanders have been there for as long as a century, as there was a family in the area that owned both an animal import business and several nearby quarries back in the early 20th century. [3] [4] [5]

Behaviour

The Italian cave salamander is usually found in areas of limestone rock, but sometimes in sandstone or ophiolitic areas. It is agile, climbing on cave walls and rocky outcrops. The female lays a small clutch of eggs in a crevice and these hatch by direct development into miniature salamanders. [2] It seems to be an opportunistic hunter with a wide range of invertebrate prey. [6]

Status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the Italian cave salamander as being endangered. This is on the basis that, although it is common over much of its range, its total extent of occurrence is less than 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) and suitable habitat may be declining locally. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold-striped salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The gold-striped salamander or golden-striped salamander is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is the only species of the genus Chioglossa. It is found in the north-west of Iberia at an altitude of up to 1,300 m. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Lyciasalamandra flavimembris, the Marmaris Lycian salamander or Marmaris salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to Turkey and is found along the southwestern Anatolian coast between Marmaris and Ula. It was first described as subspecies of Mertensiella luschani, now Lyciasalamandra luschani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persian brook salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Persian brook salamander or Persian mountain salamander is an endemic amphibian species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae found in Iran and possibly Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackbelly salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The blackbelly salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limestone salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The limestone salamander is a member of the lungless salamander family. Discovered in 1952, this species belongs to a genus endemic to California. It is endemic to a portion of the Merced River Canyon in Mariposa County, California.

The Shasta salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Shasta County in California.

Ixalotriton niger, the black jumping salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rocky areas and it is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunn's salamander</span> Species of amphibian

Dunn's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon Mountain salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Pigeon Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Pigeon Mountain in the US state of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weller's salamander</span> Species of amphibian

Weller's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other Plethodon species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonahlossee salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Yonahlossee salamander is a particularly large woodland salamander from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. The species is a member of the family Plethodontidae, which is characterized by being lungless and reproductive direct development. P. yonahlossee was first described in 1917 by E.R Dunn on a collection site on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. The common and specific name is of Native American origin, meaning “trail of the bear”. It is derived from Yonahlossee Road northeast of Linville, where the specimen was first described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrosi's cave salamander</span> Species of amphibian

Ambrosi's cave salamander or the Spezia cave salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. Endemic to northwestern Italy, its natural habitats are temperate forests, rocky areas, caves, and subterranean habitats. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Albo cave salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Monte Albo cave salamander or Stefani's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to Sardinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown cave salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The brown cave salamander, also known as Gene's cave salamander, Sardinian cave salamander, or simply Sardinian salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Sardinia (Italy). Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rocky areas, caves, and subterranean habitats. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial cave salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The imperial cave salamander, imperial salamander, odorous cave salamander, or scented cave salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Sardinia.

Platymantis spelaeus, also known as the Negros cave frog or cave wrinkled ground frog, is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it is only found in the forested limestone areas of southern Negros. It is one of the two cave-dwelling Platymantis species, the other one being Platymantis insulatus.

<i>Platymantis biak</i> Species of amphibian

Platymantis biak, also known as the Luzon limestone forest frog, is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to the island of Luzon, the Philippines, where it is known from the Biak-na-Bato National Park, its type locality, and from the immediate vicinity of the park. The specific name biak is Tagalog meaning "crevice" or "crack" and refers to the preferred limestone karst habitat at the type locality.

<i>Speleomantes strinatii</i> Species of amphibian

Speleomantes strinatii, the French cave salamander, North-west Italian cave salamander, or Strinati's cave salamander is a small species of salamander found in northwest Italy and southeast France. It is very similar in appearance to the Italian cave salamander, but has a paler belly.

References

  1. 1 2 3 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Speleomantes italicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T20458A89709054. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 Arnold, E. Nicholas; Ovenden, Denys W. (2002). Field Guide: Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe. Collins & Co. pp. 50–52. ISBN   9780002199643.
  3. ↑ Schulz; et al. (February 2021). "Lungless salamanders of the genus Speleomantes in the Solling, Germany: genetic identification, Bd/Bsal-screening, and introduction hypothesis". Herpetology Notes. 14: 421–429 – via ResearchGate.
  4. ↑ "Italian cave salamanders in Germany?". Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change. July 21, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  5. ↑ "GERMANY, SOLLING, 2019". HERPETOLOGY.CZ. April 10, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  6. ↑ https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4076
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.