Angled newts

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Angled newts
Paradactylodon gorganensis

Paradactylodon gorganensis

Systematics
Superclass : Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
Row : Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Tail amphibian (caudata)
Superfamily : Cryptobranchoidea
Family : Angled newts
Scientific name
Hynobiidae
Cope , 1859

The Asiatic salamander (Hynobiidae), also Asian country salamander called, are quite primitive family of salamanders , whose next extant relatives, the giant salamander are. This superfamily Cryptobranchoidea, which is also known as the “lower tailed amphibians”, differs from other tailed amphibians in features of bone structure, muscles and reproductive biology. It is named after the fact that among other things in the genus Hynobius the palatal teeth on the roof of the mouth form an M-shaped figure.

features

Most types of angle-toothed newts are small, not even four inches long. Ranodon sibiricus , the largest species, becomes a maximum of 25 cm long. In the lower jaw, pre-articular and angular bones are separate from one another; in the upper jaw, maxillary and premaxillary are present. Adults have neither gills nor gill slits. Your eyelids are movable. The lungs are usually well developed but are absent in Onychodactylus .

distribution

The family has an east Palearctic distribution area, which mainly includes Siberia from the Urals to Sakhalin and the Kamchatka Peninsula . In addition, the animals come in a large part of Manchuria , in central China between Yellow River and Yangtze River , in a small area in the northwest of Xinjiang , on Taiwan , Korea and Japan, in the northwest of Afghanistan and the southern Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea before . Most species live north of 40 ° N . The Siberian angle-toothed newt ( Salamandrella keyserlingii ) is the only species that also reaches the European part of Russia .

Way of life

Apart from the breeding season, which the animals spend in ponds, pools and streams, most of the angular-toothed newt species live terrestrially, which now predominantly live in moist habitats (often in mountainous regions). The female gives off gelatinous “spawning bags” which are fertilized externally by the male and, in some species, are then guarded. In contrast to the giant salamanders, angle-toothed newts go through the complete aquatic larval development with the completion of a metamorphosis to gillless, adult land salamanders.

Taxonomy

The family is currently divided into two subfamilies and nine genera with just over 50 species.

Larva of Hynobius kimurae in the water

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Laurie J. Vitt and Janalee P. Caldwell: Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Academic Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0123869197 , page 460.
  2. ↑ AmphibiaWeb: Salamandrella keyserlingii Siberian Newt
  3. ↑ AmphibiaWeb: Family Hynobiidae

Web links

Commons : Angular Newts  - Collection of images, videos and audio files