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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