Spectacled salamander | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Urodela |
Family: | Salamandridae |
Genus: | Salamandrina |
Species: | S. terdigitata |
Binomial name | |
Salamandrina terdigitata Lacépède, 1788 | |
Distribution in Italy: red - S. perspicillata green - S. terdigitata |
The spectacled salamander (Salamandrina terdigitata) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae.
This species is found only in the southern Apennine Range in Italy in humid valleys and shady, overgrown hillsides at altitudes between 200 and 1,200 m; to the north it borders the range of its sister species S. perspicillata . It is considered an important indicator species of environmental health.[ citation needed ]
It has four toes on the hind feet rather than the five normally found in other salamanders and newts. It has a warty, brownish-black back, and a rather ribbed appearance on its flanks, with a creamy white, V-shaped mark between the eyes. The underside is covered in black and white markings, with pinkish-red underside to legs and tail.
The spectacled salamander is most often found near streams, in dense vegetation, under leaf litter, dead wood, or stones. It is nocturnal and terrestrial. When threatened, it raises its tail and legs (unkenreflex), displaying its red underside as a deterrent. Similar warning displays (aposematism) are shown by newts, the Apennine yellow-bellied toad and the spotted salamander. Mating takes place on land in spring. Clutches contain about 30-50 eggs and the larvae take 2-3 mo to develop. The spectacled salamander female enters water only to lay eggs, while the male, once metamorphosis has taken place, avoids water altogether.
The IUCN Red List follows Mattoccia et al. (2005) and Canestrelli et al. (2006) in separating Salamandrina perspicillata from S. terdigitata.
The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown with a spotted underside that ranges in colour from orange to white. They reach an average length of 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in); males are larger than females. The newts' skins are dry and velvety when they are living on land, but become smooth when they migrate into the water to breed. Males develop a more vivid colour pattern and a conspicuous skin seam (crest) on their back when breeding.
The palmate newt is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is 5–9.5 cm (2.0–3.7 in) long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the throat, unlike in the similar smooth newt, always unspotted. A dark stripe runs along the head and through the eyes. Breeding males develop a distinct filament on the end of their tail, strongly webbed hind feet, and a low, smooth crest on their back.
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to 16 cm (6.3 in) long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season.
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 alpine newt is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.
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.
The spectacled owl is a large tropical owl native to the neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, south to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina. There are six subspecies. One is occasionally treated as a separate species called the short-browed or brown-spectacled owl but the consensus is that it is still merely a race until more detailed analysis can be done.
The Hong Kong warty newt or Hong Kong newt is a species of salamander found in Hong Kong. Once thought to be endemic to the territory, the species has also been found in the coastal parts of Guangdong Province. It is the only Urodela living in Hong Kong.
Notophthalmus meridionalis, the black-spotted newt or Texas newt, is a species of aquatic newt native to northeastern Mexico and southern Texas in the United States. This amphibian was put on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species in 2008 with populations still decreasing. It was reclassified to Vulnerable in 2022.
The Pyrenean brook salamander or Pyrenean newt, , is a largely aquatic species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in the Pyrenees of Andorra, France, and Spain. The IUCN lists it as least concern.
The Corsican brook salamander or Corsican mountain newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Sardinian brook salamander or Sardinian mountain newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Sardinia, Italy.
Salamandrina, the spectacled salamanders, is a genus of salamander, the only of subfamily Salamandrininae in the family Salamandridae which is still alive, as one of its own relatives is extinct. The IUCN Red List follows Mattoccia et al. (2005) and Canestrelli et al. (2006) in accepting two species, both only found in Italy:
The Carpathian newt, or Montandon’s newt, is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
The southern marbled newt or pygmy marbled newt 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.
The speckledblack salamander, previously known as just the black salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the U.S. state of California. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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 Apennine deciduous montane forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall in the Apennines, combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of climate change, the presence of silver fir, although still widespread, has been dramatically reduced in favour of beech.
Salamandrina perspicillata, the northern spectacled salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Italy.
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