Red salamander

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Red salamander
Red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)

Red salamander ( Pseudotriton ruber )

Systematics
Order : Tail amphibian (caudata)
Superfamily : Salamander relatives (Salamandroidea)
Family : Lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae)
Subfamily : Hemidactyliinae
Genre : Mud Salamander ( Pseudotriton )
Type : Red salamander
Scientific name
Pseudotriton ruber
(Sonnini de Manoncourt & Latreille , 1801)

The red salamander ( pseudo ruber ) is a salamander from the species-rich family of lung lots Salamander (Plethodontidae).

features

The skin of the 10 to 15 centimeter long animals is purple-brown to carmine-red in color and has irregular dark spots. The young animals appear lighter than the adults.

Against its predators, such as forest birds, skunks or raccoons , the species develops a skin toxin , which was formerly known as pseudo tritotoxin . These are unspecified toxins , including leptoxin .

Occurrence

The red salamander lives in the southeastern USA , south of New York to east of the delta of the Mississippi River in damp, cool forests and spring areas up to 1,500 meters above sea level. It is both aquatic and land-based; in winter he is only in the water. On land, the animals hide under stones, pieces of bark and wood.

Way of life

Food includes practically all animals to be overwhelmed. Occasionally other small salamanders are also eaten. Small prey are caught with the sling tongue, which can be snapped out and drawn in again within eleven milliseconds.

Red salamander ( Pseudotriton ruber )

Reproduction

The mating season lasts from spring to autumn. The female can store the sperm in her body and lays 50 to 100 eggs in the water under stones or wood in early autumn. In the first months of winter, larvae about two centimeters long hatch . After 27–31 months in the water, the young animals undergo metamorphosis and go ashore. In males, sexual maturity usually takes place with a size of 53–63 mm (usually after 4 years), in females usually with a size of 55–68 mm (usually after 5 years).

Web links

Commons : Red Salamander  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Conant, R., JT Collins. Peterson Field Guides: Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
  2. ^ Vaughan, Victor Clarence, Frederick George Novy: Cellular toxins. Lea brothers & company, 1902.
  3. ↑ Limaverde, Patrícia T. et al .: Isolation and pharmacological effects of leptoxin, a novel proteic toxin from Leptodactylus pentadactylus skin secretion. Toxicon, Vol. 54, No. 4, 2009, pp. 531-538.
  4. ↑ Bruce, RC: Reproductive biology of the salamander Pseudotriton ruber in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Copeia 1978, pp. 417-423.
  5. ↑ Cecala, KK, SJ Price, ME Dorcas: Diet of larval Red Salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber) examined using a nonlethal technique. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 41, No. 4, 2007, pp. 741-745.
  6. ↑ Deban, SM, U. thickness: motor control of tongue movement during capture prey in plethodontid salamanders. (PDF; 200 kB) J Exp Biol. Volume 202, Pt 24, 1999, pp. 3699-3714, PMID 10574747
  7. ↑ Bruce, RC: The larval life of the red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1972, pp. 43-51.
  8. ↑ Petranka, JW: Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.