Pleurodeles

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iRibbed Newts
Iberian Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)
Iberian Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Pleurodeles
Michahelles, 1830
Species

Pleurodeles nebulosus
Pleurodeles poireti
Pleurodeles waltl

The Ribbed Newts (Pleurodeles genus) is a group of three newt species:

  • Algerian Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles nebulosus)
  • Edough Peninsula Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles poireti)
  • Iberian Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)

The Iberian Ribbed Newt is the most common of the species, and the most frequently used as a model organism by scientists. However, in the wild its numbers are declining, and in 2006 it became a near threatened species. The other two species are in fact threatened, with P. nebulosus considered vulnerable to extinction and P. poireti classified as an endangered species. The numbers of all three species are declining in the wild. Livestock agriculture is an ongoing major cause of habitat loss and degradation, and of water pollution, for all three species.

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