Pyrenean Newt
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Pyrenean Newt ( Calotriton asper ) |
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| Calotriton asper | ||||||||||||
| ( Dugès , 1852) |
The Pyrenean pig ( Calotriton asper ) is a salamander -type from the genus of Calotriton . In 2005, the population on the El Montseny massif in Catalonia was separated as a separate species Calotriton arnoldi .
features
It is a slim newt with a flattened head and trunk. It reaches a total length of 11 to 16 centimeters, whereby the length of the laterally flattened tail corresponds approximately to the head-trunk length (shorter in males). The eyes are relatively small and do not protrude like a frog. No bulges in the ear glands can be seen on the head . A clear throat fold separates the head from the trunk. The skin is noticeably rough, caused by horny, thorny warts on the back and on the top of the head. The strong limbs end in black claws. The cloaca of the females is markedly elongated cone-shaped and directed backwards. In contrast to other water newts (compare: Triturus ), swimming seams on the back and tail are not formed.
The basic color ranges from olive brown to black brown. Longitudinal yellow spots on the back can be seen above the spine and flanks, which can combine to form a continuous band with irregular contours, which is more the case in young animals and disappears with increasing age. The smooth belly side and the underside of the tail edge are yellowish to orange-red and more intensely colored in the males than in the females and also have dark spots on the throat. Cave-dwelling individuals are partially unpigmented.
Occurrence
The Pyrenean Newt lives in the Pyrenees ( France , Spain , Andorra ) mostly in high mountain regions between 1500 and 2000 m , in extreme cases from 175 m (Catalonia) to 2550 m (Lac de Cambalés).
As a habitat, it prefers quiet zones in clean, oxygen-rich mountain streams, ditches and mountain lakes; a water temperature of 11 degrees Celsius should be optimal. Depending on the altitude, the animals can be found here between February and September, and at low altitudes all year round. The Pyrenean mountain newt lives true to location and generally has a very small radius of action. The winter months are spent on land at higher altitudes.
Reproduction, individual development
When mating in the water, the male takes a signal position by erecting its tail upwards and thus presenting its colored underside. Approaching females are entangled with their tails in the loin area. The union of the partners is further reinforced by the male holding the female with the front legs. In the meantime, it stimulates the female's cloaca with its hind feet. Direct cloaca contact causes multiple spermatophores to be transmitted within up to 30 hours . This reproductive biology, which differs from that of other tail amphibians, is interpreted as an adaptation to the river conditions, under which an indirect transfer of the seed packets by settling on the bottom (compare for example: Triturus ) would not work.
The two to three eggs, four to six millimeters in size with jelly shells, are deposited individually on stones upstream , similar to the compensatory flight of some aquatic insects. At a water temperature of 12 ° C, the approximately 12 millimeter large larvae hatch after about five to six weeks. By the time they metamorphose after about a year (at high altitudes only after two years) they are 50 to 60 millimeters in size. The larvae overwinter in deep, protected pools. With three (males) to four years (females) the animals become sexually mature.
Other way of life
For food spectrum of the species include aquatic insects and their larvae, freshwater shrimps, worms and probably also the tadpoles of the grass frog . In drought and in winter, the animals hide in gravel layers, where they can be found in tangled groups. The main natural enemies are trout and larvae of dragonflies and water beetles, but water pollution also causes problems for the animals. The most important predator is the trout ( Salmo trutta ), which limits its expansion downstream and into deeper regions.
Web links
- Photos of Calotriton asper at www.herp.it
- Pyrenean Newt at Amphibiaweb
- Calotriton asper inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: J. Bosch, M. Tejedo, R. Lecis, C. Miaud, M. Lizana, P. Edgar, I. Martínez-Solano, A. Salvador, M. García-París, E. Recuero Gil, R. Marquez, P. Geniez, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ^ Salvador Carranza, Felix Amat: Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of Euproctus (Amphibia: Salamandridae), with the resurrection of the genus Calotriton and the description of a new endemic species from the Iberian Peninsula. In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145, No. 4, 2005, pp. 555-582, doi: 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.2005.00197.x .
- ↑ A. Nöllert, C. Nöllert: The amphibians of Europe. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH, Stuttgart 1992.
- ↑ J.-P. Gasc: Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Europe. Societas Europaea Herpetologica, Bonn 1997.
- ↑ a b c Albert Montori, Gustavo A. Llorente, Alex Richter-Boix: Habitat features Affecting the small-scale distribution and migration patterns of longitudinally Calotriton asper in a pre-Pyrenean population. (PDF) In: Amphibia-Reptilia 29, No. 3, 2008, p. 371.
- ↑ B. Thiesmeier, C. Hornberg: On the reproduction and mating behavior of the mountain newts, genus Euproctus (Gené), in the terrarium, with special consideration of Euproctus asper. In: Salamandra , 26, No. 1, 1990, pp. 63-82.