Lanza's alpine salamander
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Lanza's Alpine Salamander ( Salamandra lanzai ) |
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| Nascetti , Andreone , Capula & Bullini , 1988 |
Lanzas Alpine salamander ( Salamandra lanzai ) is an up to 16 centimeters long salamander from the family of Salamandridae . The species lives exclusively in a small area of the western Alps in the border region between Italy and France . It is very similar to the alpine salamander ( Salamandra atra ), but has a more robust body and a rounded tail. Occasionally, Salamandra lanzai is still described as a subspecies of the Alpine salamander, since from a genetic point of view the variability for a "real" species seems to be very low.
features
The animals reach a maximum height of 16.2 centimeters. Like the alpine salamanders, they are uniformly black in color, but a bit more stocky than these. There is a lead-gray color on the underside and here a longitudinal groove runs to the tail. The male can be distinguished from the female externally by a slightly more arched cloaca .
In addition to the black eyes, the protruding ear glands ( parotids ) can also be clearly seen on the head. Along the body flanks the animals have a series of warty and elongated elevations that contain glandular exits. The trunk is laterally segmented by eleven to thirteen rib furrows. The tail is slightly longer than the body and ends rounded.
distribution and habitat
The range of the species is limited to the southwestern Cottian Alps in western Piedmont . The habitats correspond to those of the alpine salamander. Lanza's alpine salamander occurs at altitudes between about 1,200 and 2,600 meters above sea level , with predominantly biotopes such as moist alpine pastures, dwarf shrub heaths and scree slopes being populated. You can find it here, for example, under stones or dead wood . The upper Val Sangone forms the extreme limit of its occurrence.
Way of life
Lanzas Alpine salamander are mostly nocturnal and feed on zoophag of insects , spiders , various larvae , lice , snails and earthworms .
Hazard and protection
The animals could be particularly threatened due to the very limited habitat; however, no special protective measures are known.
Legal protection status (selection)
- Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH-RL): Annex IV (species to be strictly protected)
- Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG): strictly protected
literature
- Andreas Nöllert, Christel Nöllert: The amphibians of Europe . Franck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1992. ISBN 3-440-06340-2
- Axel Kwet: Reptiles and Amphibians of Europe . Franck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2005. ISBN 3-440-10237-8
- Alexandre Riberon, Effimia Sotiriou, Claude Miaud, Franco Androne & Pierre Taberlet (2002): Lack of Genetic Diversity in Salamandra lanzai Revealed by Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. - Copeia , (1), pp. 229-232.
Web links
- Photos of Lanza's alpine salamander on www.herp.it
- Entry on Salamandra lanzai at www.iucnredlist.org (Engl.)
supporting documents
- ↑ Giulia Tessa, Angelica Crottini, Franco Andreone: A new finding of Salamandra lanzai in the Upper Sangone Valley (NW Italy) marks the species' most disjunct population (Amphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae) , in: Acta Herpetologica 2,1 (2007) 53-58.