Siberian salamander
Siberian angle tooth scraper ( Salamandrella keyserlingii ), illustration
The Siberian angle tooth scraper ( Salamandrella keyserlingii ) is a salamander of the family angle tooth newts and forms one of two recently differentiated species of the genus Salamandrella. In older classifications it is still counted to the genus Hynobius.
Features
The Siberian angle tooth scraper 13 (females ) to 16 inches (male ) long and is built quite strong. The hind feet have only four toes instead of five, as otherwise only the Italian spectacled salamander. The head is separated from the fuselage; the eyes are " frog -like" show. On the back there are parotid glands, similar about the fire salamanders or toads. The body comprises 12 to 15 distinct vertical side grooves. The tail is rounded at the root, but sometimes laterally flattened to the top and keeled above. Its length is less than the combined head and torso of. It is characterized by a thin black dorsal stripe on the back center, which is surrounded by bronze-colored longitudinal bands, which are in turn limited by dark, marbled edges. The belly is whitish- gray and mottled flesh-colored throat. The skin appears smooth and shiny. Within the huge expanse is great variability in body proportions, colors and marks.
Occurrence
Except in two local lost territories on the European side of the Ural mountain range (about 44 east longitude; area of Nizhny Novgorod and in Syktyvkar and Arkhangelsk ) is the Siberian angle tooth scraper in the Asian part of Russia to the Okhotsk Sea in the east of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Sakhalin Island and the Kuril islands. The southern limit of its distribution form the northern Mongolia and Manchuria in northeast China. Also on the Japanese island of Hokkaido Northern type is represented. Populations in south-eastern Siberia are now assigned to a separate taxon that is considered either as a subspecies or a distinct species ( Salamandrella tridactyla).
As the only salamander Salamandrella exceeds keyserlingii the 66th degree of north latitude, and even occurs close to the climatological cold pole of the northern hemisphere at Verkhoyansk. The nature shows an extreme frugality for amphibians to freezing temperatures and survived even longer cooling phase from -35 to -40 ° C.
Habitat and behavior
The Siberian angle tooth scraper lives in swampy areas, on forest clearings and damp meadows, where he is under moss, leaf litter or tree stumps near its spawning grounds. As such, serve flood ponds, quiet rivers and larger, herb -rich standing waters, but even the smallest accumulation of water of various characteristics. In the field of Siberian permafrost soils the summer activity period is extremely short. Shelters the animals are looking to hibernate from the end of September deep in the ground or in rotten tree trunks. This phase can last depending on the area 160-220 days. Already at an external temperature of 0.5 to 1 ° C they are again capable of movement and active.
The diet of the Siberian newts angle tooth consists of insects and their larvae, earthworms, slugs, spiders, and gammarus and is captured at a nightly activity.
Reproduction
Starting at 3 ° C water temperature to find the newts during a snowmelt from April to June in the spawning grounds. Before mating, the female is the male with its flossengesäumtem at the time rudder tail " bewedelt " and long-lasting " dancing around ". The actual act of reproduction is, however, insufficiently researched. One assumes, firstly, that as with all types of tooth angle newts an external fertilization of the deposed by the female spawn takes place. On the other hand, it is reported that the female with his cloaca receives more remote from the male Spermaklümpchen and this seed is kept until next year. The following year, the females should then two approximately four to a maximum of 37 centimeters long, gelatinous, settle spiral wound " Eisäcke " into the water. A little later it comes to re- courtship with a male and sperm transfer for the next year. After a two - to five -week embryonic stage, the larvae hatch and now require at one cm size six to ten weeks to metamorphosis. After a year the young are about three inches tall; sexual maturity occurs two or three years.