Lycian salamanders

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Lycian salamanders
Lyciasalamandra helverseni

Lyciasalamandra helverseni

Systematics
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Tail amphibian (caudata)
Superfamily : Salamander relatives (Salamandroidea)
Family : Real salamanders (Salamandridae)
Subfamily : Salamandrinae
Genre : Lycian salamanders
Scientific name
Lycia Salamandra
Veith & Steinfartz , 2004

The Lycian salamanders ( Lyciasalamandra ) are a taxonomically newly defined genus of the tailed amphibians , whose species occur in very small areas in the south of Turkey and on individual Greek and Turkish islands. The group was named after one of its main areas of distribution, Lycia in southwestern Anatolia .

features

It is up to 14 centimeters, in females exceptionally up to 18 centimeters long, slender land salamanders with a flat head and a short, rounded snout. The tail makes up about half of the total length and is rounded to the sides slightly flattened. Its large, protruding eyes and elongated ear glands on the back of the head are striking . The skin is smooth and shiny. In the middle of the back there are two rows with glandular openings, on the flanks 11 to 13 rib furrows each. Coloring and drawing of the animals vary greatly depending on the species, so that no general information can be given. In contrast to the back side, which is often intensely colored and rich in contrast, the stomach is usually only pale in color or the skin there is even slightly transparent. The throat region shows clear transverse folds.

The genus is characterized by a pronounced sexual dimorphism : the males, which are smaller on average, develop a spur on the top of the tail root and tiny "thorns" on the back during the mating season. Also, their cloaca - as with many tailed amphibians - is significantly more arched than that of the females. Lycian salamanders can shed their tails and regenerate in lizard fashion .

Habitat, way of life

During the day, the animals hide under stones and in crevices in karst areas . The hiding places must have a damp and cool microclimate and, for this purpose, have an underground cavity system. Some species stay there for several months in summer. In the evening the salamanders hunt for insects, woodlice and worms; in rainy weather they also come out during the day. The habitats are not infrequently close to human settlements (where natural stone walls are used, for example), but also in pine forests and dry Kermes oak groves .

During the breeding season in the winter months, the sexual partners meet on land. After a complicated mating ritual, during which the male first crawls under the female, clasps it and stimulates it with his spur, the male finally deposits a spermatophore on the ground. The sperm packet is then taken up by the female through its cloaca. After a gestation period of five to eight months, the female gives birth to two fully developed young animals that are already seven centimeters long. Lyciasalamandra are thus viviparous ( viviparous ) and unlike many other amphibians , regardless of surface water for larval development. A life expectancy of ten years and more is assumed.

distribution

Distribution of the species Lyciasalamandra luschani

The different species of the Lycian salamander (see below) each inhabit only very limited areas in southwestern Anatolia near the Mediterranean coast and individual offshore islands. These include the islands of Karpathos , Kassos and Saria to the east of Crete , as well as Kastelorizo , which is closer to the Turkish mainland (to Greece), and the islands of Kekova , Tersane , Domuz Adese and Bogaz Adasi, which belong to Turkey . So far, no evidence of the genus has apparently been found on Rhodes , also in this region. A close ecological connection to subroding karst rocks in areas with annual precipitation of more than 1000 millimeters and average January temperatures above the frost line can be observed in most of the deposits.

Systematics

For a long time only one species Mertensiella luschani with several subspecies was delimited, which was placed as a sister species of the Caucasian salamander ( M. caucasica ) in the genus Mertensiella . In 2001, based on genetic examinations of the mitochondrial DNA, a taxonomic reassessment was carried out and the species is now (again) listed as Salamandra luschani among the real salamanders . Up to nine subspecies were differentiated according to differences in distribution as well as color and pattern. Based on the identified genetic lines, a new phylogenetic classification was carried out in 2004 , from which the separate genus Lyciasalamandra with 10 species and two further subspecies emerged:

Hazard and protection

Due to their very small, often isolated ( disjoint ) distribution areas, most species of Lycian salamanders are particularly sensitive or threatened. Specific threats arise from habitat loss as a result of construction and economic measures. In the international Red List of IUCN is Lyciasalamandra billae as CR (critically endangered) classified, L. helverseni as VU (vulnerable), all other species as EN (high risk).

The species with a European distribution area (here: L. helverseni and L. luschani ssp. Basoglui ) are "particularly protected" according to the Federal Species Protection Ordinance . The former type Mertensiella luschani from which all kinds of new genus Lyciasalamandra derived is in the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive of the EU in Annexes II ( "there are specially set up protected areas") and IV ( "strictly protected") listed.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Weisrock, DW, JR Macey, IH Ugurtas, A. Larson & TJ Papenfuss: Molecular phylogenetics and historical biogeography among Salamandrids of the “true” salamander clade: rapid branching of numerous highly divergent lineages in Mertensiella luschani associated with the rise of Anatolia. - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 18 (3/2001): 434-448.
  2. ^ Veith, M. & S. Steinfartz: When non-monophyly results in taxonomic consequences - the case of Mertensiella within the Salamandridae (Amphibia: Urodela). - Salamandra 40 (2004): 67-80.

literature

  • Andreas Nöllert & Christel Nöllert: The amphibians of Europe. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart, 1992, ISBN 3-440-06340-2 .

Web links

Commons : Lycian Salamander ( Lyciasalamandra )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files