Southern marbled newt

Last updated

Southern marbled newt
BennyTrapp Zwerg-Marmormolch Triturus pygmaeus Andalusien Spanien.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Triturus
Species:
T. pygmaeus
Binomial name
Triturus pygmaeus
Wolterstorff, 1905
Mapa Triturus pygmaeus.png

The southern marbled newt or pygmy marbled newt (Triturus pygmaeus) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Salamander order of amphibians

Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by a 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 present-day salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere and most species are found in the Holarctic ecozone, with some species present in the Neotropical zone.

Salamandridae family of amphibians

Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Currently, 74 species have been identified in the Northern Hemisphere - Europe, Asia, the northern tip of Africa, and North America. 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.

Portugal Republic in Southwestern Europe

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

Contents

Previously thought to be a subspecies of the marbled newt (Triturus marmoratus), it was raised to species level after genetic studies revealed its distinctiveness from the former. [2]

Marbled newt species of amphibian

The marbled newt is a mainly terrestrial newt native to Europe.

Distribution

The southern marbled newt occurs only in southern Portugal and southwestern Spain, in Mediterranean climate. The Douro–Tagus watershed forms a narrow, northern border to the range of Triturus marmoratus. [3]

Mediterranean climate Type of climate

A Mediterranean climate or dry summer climate is characterized by dry summers and mild, wet winters. The climate receives its name from the Mediterranean Basin, where this climate type is most common. Mediterranean climate zones are typically located along the western sides of continents, between roughly 30 and 45 degrees north and south of the equator. The main cause of Mediterranean, or dry summer climate, is the subtropical ridge which extends northwards during the summer and migrates south during the winter due to increasing north-south temperature differences.

Douro river in Spain and Portugal

The Douro is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto.

Tagus Longest river in the Iberian Peninsula

The Tagus is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. It is 1,007 km (626 mi) long, 716 km (445 mi) in Spain, 47 km (29 mi) along the border between Portugal and Spain and 275 km (171 mi) in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. It drains an area of 80,100 square kilometers (30,927 sq mi). The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course. Several dams and diversions supply drinking water to places of central Spain and Portugal, while dozens of hydroelectric stations create power. Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol it enters a wide alluvial valley, prone to flooding. Its mouth is a large estuary near the port city of Lisbon.

Description

The southern marbled newt is similar in appearance to the marbled newt but is smaller, with adults reaching a total length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) as against the latter's 17 centimetres (6.7 in). The dorsal surface is yellowish-green heavily mottled with irregular patches of dark brown or black, and there is a thin orange line running along the spine from head to tip of tail, although this stripe fades somewhat in adult males. The underparts are creamy-white with dark spots which distinguishes this species from the marbled newt with its dark underparts. Breeding males have a wavy, black-barred crest running from the head tail tip, but this has no indentation between body and tail. [4]

Sagittal crest

A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptionally strong jaw muscles. The sagittal crest serves primarily for attachment of the temporalis muscle, which is one of the main chewing muscles. Development of the sagittal crest is thought to be connected to the development of this muscle. A sagittal crest usually develops during the juvenile stage of an animal in conjunction with the growth of the temporalis muscle, as a result of convergence and gradual heightening of the temporal lines.

Status

The southern marbled newt lives in oak woodland and uses ponds, ditches and other water bodies for breeding. Its habitat is being degraded by urbanization and the loss of temporary water bodies. Another threat to the species is the introduction of crayfish and non-native fish and the pollution of its breeding sites. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its status as being "near threatened". [1]

International Union for Conservation of Nature World organisation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable".

Related Research Articles

Northern crested newt species of amphibian

The northern crested newt, also known as the great crested newt or warty newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.

<i>Triturus</i> genus of amphibians

Triturus is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase.

Southern crested newt species of amphibian

The southern crested newt is a terrestrial European newt. It is similar to the northern crested newt except larger and more robust.

Striped newt species of amphibian

The striped newt, Notophthalmus perstriatus, is a species of aquatic salamander native to the southeastern United States. It is a close relative of the eastern newt, with which it shares territory, and can be distinguished from the latter by the presence of red stripes running down the sides of its back and red spots on its back that lack a black outline.

Algerian ribbed newt species of amphibian

The Algerian ribbed newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Algeria and Tunisia. The natural habitats of this newt are rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, cisterns, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and ponds. It is threatened by habitat destruction.

<i>Pleurodeles poireti</i> Species of amphibian

Pleurodeles poireti, the Edough ribbed newt or Poiret's newt, is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found only in the Edough Massif, in the north east of Algeria.

Boscas newt species of amphibian

Boscá's newt, also known as the Iberian newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. The species is found in Portugal and western Spain.

Danube crested newt species of amphibian

The Danube crested newt or Danube newt is a species of newt found in central and eastern Europe, along the basin of the Danube river and some of its tributaries and in the Dnieper delta. It has a smaller and more slender body than the other crested newts in genus Triturus but like these, males develop a conspicuous jagged seam on back and tail during breeding season.

Italian newt species of amphibian

The Italian newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Italy. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was formerly known as Triturus italicus, but was relocated to the genus Lissotriton after Triturus was split.

Carpathian newt species of amphibian

The Carpathian newt, or Montadon's newt, is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

Southern banded newt species of amphibian

The southern banded newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

Guttural toad species of amphibian

The African common toad or guttural toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forest, ponds, and canals and ditches.

Betic midwife toad species of amphibian

The Betic midwife toad or Sapo Partero Bético is a species of frog in the family Alytidae. It is endemic to mountainous in south eastern Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, ponds, and aquaculture ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Marbled snout-burrower species of amphibian

The marbled snout-burrower is a species of frog in the family Hemisotidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, possibly Mali, possibly Niger, possibly Rwanda, possibly Sierra Leone, and possibly Togo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, plantations, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches. It is also called the mottled shovelnose frog and marbled shovelnose frog.

Iberian parsley frog species of amphibian

The Iberian parsley frog is a species of frogs in the family Pelodytidae, known as "parsley frogs" because of their green speckles. This species is only found in Portugal and Spain; in Spanish it is known as sapillo moteado ibérico.

Newt Animal

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.

Ommatotriton ophryticus, the northern banded newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. It is found in northeastern Turkey and western Caucasus in Georgia, Armenia, and southern Russia.

Anatolian crested newt species of amphibian

The Anatolian crested newt is a newt species endemic to northern Anatolia in Turkey. Before its description in 2016, it was first considered to belong to the southern crested newt and then the Balkan crested newt. The three species form a complex of morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Genetic data demonstrated the Anatolian crested newt to be distinct from the other two species, although it hybridises with the Balkan crested newt at its western range end.

References

  1. 1 2 Jan Willem Arntzen, Pedro Beja, Jaime Bosch, Miguel Tejedo, Miguel Lizana, Robert Jehle, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Alfredo Salvador, Mario García-París, Ernesto Recuero Gil, Rafael Marquez, Paulo Sá-Sousa, Carmen Diaz Paniagua (2009). Triturus pygmaeus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.
  2. ↑ García-París, Mario; Arano, Begona; Herrero, Pilar (2001). "Molecular characterization of the contact zone between Triturus pygmaeus and T. marmoratus (Caudata: Salamandridae) in Central Spain and their taxonomic assessment" (PDF). Rev Esp Herpetol. 15: 115–126. hdl:10261/53967.
  3. ↑ Zuiderwijk A. (2004). "Triturus marmoratus (Latreille, 1800)". In Gasc J-P, Cabela A, Crnobrnja-Isailovic J, et al. (eds.). Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Europe. Paris: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. pp. 82–83. ISBN   2-85653-574-7.
  4. ↑ Arnold, E. Nicholas; Ovenden, Denys W. (2002). Field Guide: Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe. Collins & Co. p. 42. ISBN   9780002199643.
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.