Siberian salamander

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Siberian salamander
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Hynobiidae
Genus: Salamandrella
Species: S. keyserlingii
Binomial name
Salamandrella keyserlingii
Dybowski, 1870

The Siberian salamander, Salamandrella keyserlingii, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. It is found primarily in Siberia, in wet woods and riparian groves. There are also outlying populations in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and also in northeastern China and on the Korean Peninsula. It is believed extirpated from South Korea. An isolated population exists on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kunishiro wetland. A breeding-ground of Siberian salamanders in Paegam, South Hamgyong, is designated North Korean natural monument #360.[1]

Adults are from 9 to 12.5 centimeters in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. There are thin dark brown stripes between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. There are four clawless toes on each foot. The tail is longer than the body.

A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a single female typically laying up to 240 eggs in a season. The light-brown eggs hatch three to four weeks after being laid, releasing larval salamanders of 11-12 mm in length.

The species is known for surviving deep freezes. In some cases they have been known to remain frozen in permafrost for years, and upon thawing, walking off.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ 합수도룡뇽살이터. Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.

[edit] References

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