Salamandridae

Salamandridae
True salamanders and newts
Notophthalmus viridescens from North America
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Suborder: Salamandroidea
Family: Salamandridae
Goldfuss, 1820
Genera

  Calotriton
  Chioglossa
  Cynops
  Echinotriton
  Euproctus
  Lissotriton
  Lyciasalamandra
  Mertensiella
  Mesotriton
  Neurergus
  Notophthalmus
  Ommatotriton
  Pachytriton
  Paramesotriton
  Pleurodeles
  Salamandra
  Salamandrina
  Taricha
  Triturus
  Tylototriton

The Salamandridae are a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Currently, 74 species (with more expected) have been identified in the Northern Hemisphere - Europe, Asia, the northern tip of Africa, and North America. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough skin.

With a few exceptions, salamandrids have patterns of bright and contrasting colours. They have four well-developed limbs, with four toes on the fore limbs, and (in most cases) five toes on the hind limbs. They vary from 7 to 30 cm (3 to 12 in) in length.[1]

The alpine salamander and Lanza's fire salamander give birth to live young, without a tadpole stage, but the other species lay their eggs in water. Some newts are neotenic, being able to reproduce before they are fully metamorphosed.[1]

Phylogeny

Cladograms based on the work of Pyron and Wiens (2011)[2] and modified using Mikko Haaramo [3]


Salamandrininae

Archaeotriton basalticus



Salamandrina




Salamandrinae
Chioglossini

Mertensiella caucasica



Chioglossa lusitanica



Salamandrini

Megalotriton filholi



Lyciasalamandra



Salamandra




Pleurodelinae

Carpathotriton


Pleurodelini

Brachycormus noachicus



Chelotriton



Palaeopleurodeles hauffi



Pleurodeles




Echinotriton



Tylototriton




Molgini
Tarichina

Notophthalmus



Taricha



Molgina

Koalliella genzeli



Oligosemia spinosa



Lissotriton






Neurergus



Ommatotriton





Calotriton



Triturus






Euproctus




Ichthyosaura alpestris


Cynopita

Procynops miocenicus



Laotriton laoensis




Pachytriton




Cynops



Paramesotriton













Taxonomy

The genera Chioglossa, Lyciasalamandra, Mertensiella, and Salamandra are grouped in the subfamily Salamandrinae, the rest are in Pleurodelinae.[4] Those with a more thoroughly aquatic lifestyle are referred to as "newts", but this is not a formal taxonomic description.

Family SALAMANDRIDAE

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lanza, B., Vanni, S., & Nistri, A. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
  2. Pyron, R.A.; Weins, J.J. (2011). "A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of advanced frogs, salamanders, and caecilians". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61 (2): 543–853. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012. PMID 21723399.
  3. Haaramo, Mikko (2011). "Caudata – salamanders". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive.
  4. http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/references.php?id=27224

External links

Data related to Salamandridae at Wikispecies Media related to Salamandridae at Wikimedia Commons