Sword-tail newt
| Sword-tail newt | |
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| C. e. popei | |
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| Species: | C. ensicauda
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| Binomial name | |
| Cynops ensicauda (Hallowell, 1860)
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| Synonyms | |
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Triturus (Cynops) pyrrhogaster ensicaudus (Nakamura and Ueno, 1963) Triturus ensicauda (Sato, 1943) Triturus ensicaudus ensicaudus (Inger, 1947) Triturus ensicaudus popei (Inger, 1947) Triturus ensicaudus (Dunn, 1918) Triturus pyrrhogaster ensicaudus (Kawamura, 1950)[1] | |
The sword-tail newt (Cynops ensicauda') has recently been placed on Japan's Red List of Threatened Amphibians. This newt has a very small range and can only be found in some of the southernmost islands of Japan. Sometimes, sword-tail newts are called fire-bellied newts, not to be confused with the common Chinese and Japanese species, because of their bright orange bellies, which serve as a warning to predators that they are poisonous. They can be differentiated from these two species by their large size, broader heads and (against Japanese fire-bellies) smoother skin. This newt ranges from brown to black above, occasionally with an orange dorsal stripe. Some individuals may have light spotting or speckling on their backs.
Sword-tailed newts grow from 12 - 18 cm (5 - 7 inches)[2] and are considered to be the largest living members of their genus. . Females and males look significantly different in appearance. Females have much longer tails that are actually longer than the rest of their bodies. Males’ tails are much shorter and sometimes display a whitish sheen during breeding season.
Habitat and distribution
The sword-tailed newt is only found on the Ryukyu Archipelago, an island chain of the southern coast of Japan, as well as on many smaller surrounding islands. This newt's habitat is slow, cool, stagnant bodies of water. They are commonly found in man-made structures such as rice paddies, road-side ditches, and cattle waterholes.[2] There are two known subspecies of sword-tailed newt, C. e. ensicauda and C. e. popei. Due to the subtropical climate of its native habitat, it is more tolerant of high temperatures than other Cynops. The sword-tailed newt has no predators, so deforestation and land development are the main reasons for their endangerment.
Breeding places are being frequented by only a fourth of the population that was breeding 14 years ago. This lack of breeding is another key reason for them becoming endangered. Many of their breeding places are in roadside ditches and gutters, which can lead to them being run over. Sword-tail newts are extremely territorial, thus making moving their breeding places difficult.
References
- ^ "Cynops ensicauda". Amphibian Species of the World 5.5. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ a b Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops ensicauda
- Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is labeled endangered