Sardinian mountain newt
| Sardinian mountain newt | ||||||||||||
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Sardinian newt ( Euproctus platycephalus ) |
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| Euproctus platycephalus | ||||||||||||
| ( Gravenhorst , 1829) |
The Sardinian mountain newt or pike-head newt ( Euproctus platycephalus ) is a species of tailed amphibian from the genus of the European mountain newt ( Euproctus ). It only occurs in Sardinia .
features
The Sardinian mountain newt is a small to medium-sized newt that lives in the water. The average total length is 127 millimeters for males and 112 millimeters for females. For both sexes, the maximum total length is 150 millimeters. The body is relatively flat, as is the head. The lower jaw is clearly dominated by the upper jaw ("pike snout"). Often the parotids are only indistinctly visible. The throat fold is not pronounced. The surface of the skin is relatively smooth, only a few warts are present. The males have a strong lower leg spur.
The length of the tail slightly exceeds the length of the head and torso. At its base, the cross section of the tail is longitudinally oval and laterally compressed, at the rear section it has a smooth-edged, flat fin edge. The top of the animals is light to dark brown with green, yellow or light gray curlicues and spots. A red line runs down the middle of the back. The ventral side is yellowish to reddish in the middle, but whitish on the flanks. There are irregular dark spots on the throat and abdomen. The lungs are reduced or absent.
Occurrence
The Sardinian mountain newt occurs only in Sardinia . The species is mainly found in the east of the island between Monte Limbara in the north and Sette Fratelli in the south, only a few finds are available from western Sardinia. The habitat are small rivers and lakes at altitudes of 50 to 1800 meters.
Reproduction and development
Mating has been observed year-round in captivity, with the exception of July and August. The males actively seek out females ready to mate. The male grabs the female with his mouth in the middle of the trunk so that he can transport her to another place in case of disturbances. This "wearing in the mouth" can last up to an hour. The female is passive here, only her tail snakes slightly.
The male transfers only one spermatophore per mating . While it lays its tail loosely over the female's hips, it curves its cloaca against that of its partner like a hook. Using its lower leg spurs, it massages the spermatophore from its cloaca, which is taken over by the female. In contrast to the Pyrenean mountain newt ( Euproctus asper ), the male does not stimulate the cloacal region of the female. Pairing can take up to 3 hours.
The females lay 50 to 220 eggs over a period of 3 to 6 months. To lay their eggs, the females crawl under hollow stones, lie down on their backs and stick the eggs to the stone with the cloaca that resembles a laying tube. Embryonic development takes about 4 weeks. When hatching, the larvae have a total length of about 13 millimeters. The metamorphosis to the adult animal takes 10 to 15 months, during which the larvae overwinter. Their total length is 50 to 70 millimeters. So far, only one case of neoteny in the Sardinian mountain newt is known, the individual in question comes from Eastern Sardinia and was 101 millimeters long. The species can live to be 7 years old in captivity.
Way of life
Adults may live in the water year round. In midsummer and autumn, however, specimens were also found on land in the immediate vicinity of bodies of water, which indicates overwintering or a summer stay on land. Sardinian mountain newts are usually crepuscular and nocturnal, but observations are sometimes also possible during the day. The larvae hide between stones during the day.
Danger
The Sardinian newt is classified by the IUCN as endangered due to its less than 500 km² and strongly fragmented distribution area as well as the continuing reduction in subpopulations and the quantitative and qualitative deterioration of its habitat .
supporting documents
- Andreas Nöllert, Christel Nöllert: The amphibians of Europe . Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-440-06340-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Euproctus platycephalus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Franco Andreone, Roberta Lecis, Paul Edgar, Benedikt Schmidt, Claudia Corti, 2006. Retrieved on 7 February, 2009.
