Salamandrella keyserlingii

Salamandrella keyserlingii, the Siberian salamander, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. It lives in wet woods and riparian groves.

Salamandrella keyserlingii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Hynobiidae
Genus: Salamandrella
Species:
S. keyserlingii
Binomial name
Salamandrella keyserlingii
Synonyms
  • Hynobius keyserlingii Boulenger, 1910

Distribution

It is found primarily in Siberia east of the Sosva River and the Urals, in the East Siberian Mountains, including the Verkhoyansk Range, northeast to the Anadyr Highlands, east to the Kamchatka Peninsula and south into Manchuria,[2] with outlying populations also in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, northeastern China, and on the Korean Peninsula. It is believed to be extirpated from South Korea. An isolated population exists on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. A breeding ground of Siberian salamanders in Paegam, South Hamgyong, is designated North Korean natural monument #360.[3]

Description

Adults are from 9.0 to 12.5 cm in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. Thin, dark brown stripes occur between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. Four clawless toes are on each foot. The tail is longer than the body.

A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a 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 (as low as −45 °C). In some cases, they have been known to remain frozen in permafrost for years, and upon thawing, walking off.[4]

References
  1. Kuzmin, S.; Ishchenko, V.; Matsui, M.; Wenge, Z. & Kaneko, Y. (2004). "Salamandrella keyserlingii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. JSTOR - Emmett Reid Dunn, The Salamanders of the Family Hynobiidae
  3. "합수도룡뇽살이터". Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  4. "How salamanders survive the deep freeze". New Scientist. 11 September 1993. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

Further reading
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