Anderson's crocodile newt

Anderson's crocodile newt
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Echinotriton
Species: E. andersoni
Binomial name
Echinotriton andersoni
(Boulenger, 1892)
Synonyms

Tylototriton andersoni Boulenger, 1892

Anderson's crocodile newt, Anderson's newt, Ryukyu spiny newt, or Japanese warty newt (Echinotriton andersoni) is a species of salamander in the Salamandridae family found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and, at least formerly, Guanyinshan (=Mount Guanyin) in northern Taiwan, where it is now believed to be extinct.[1][2][3]

Description

Echinotriton andersoni is a stout, flat salamander. Head is broad and triangular in shape. There are 12–15 conspicuous knob-like lateral glands. Colouration is uniformly dark brown or black, only the underside of the tail, cloacal region, and the soles of the feet are yellow-orange. The maximum size is at least 80 mm (3.1 in) in snout–vent length and 169 mm (6.7 in) in total length.[3]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are broad-leaved evergreen forests, secondary forests, grasslands and swamps. It has also been found in and near sugar cane fields. It breeds in standing water such as ponds and temporary pools;[1] outside breeding season it is difficult to observe as adult salamanders live in leaf litter, in rocky crevices, and under rocks and logs.[3]

Echinotriton andersoni is uncommon, and it is threatened by habitat loss and by collection for illegal pet trade.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Yoshio Kaneko, Masafumi Matsui (2004). "Echinotriton andersoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Echinotriton andersoni (Boulenger, 1892)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Sparreboom, Max; Wu, Yunke. "Echinotriton andersoni (Boulenger, 1892)". Salamanders of China LifeDesk. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
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