C. cyanurus larvae (Part IV)

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

gratuitous belly shot of the adults:

 

[TJ]

A dorsal shot of the adults in their dark phase:

 

[TJ]

 

[erik]

i love the belly shots kina looks like a newty dog pile!

 

[TJ]

I don't know what it is that accounts for their changes in coloration.
Today, they range from tan to grey to almost black.

 

[TJ]

 

[terry]

Very lovely pictures Tim! It will not be long till the larvae metamorphosize! What is the progress on the pale larva? Has it changed its colour or did it retain its pale colouration?

 

[joseph]

Starting to look like adults now! Also, great photos of the adults! They seem to share alot in common with orientalis as far as looks go.

 

[TJ]

Thanks, guys.

Terry, there are so many pale larvae now, I'm not sure which is which anymore

I was expecting my first morph before now, but they're keeping me waiting.

Joseph, they certainly have some common features, but orientalis has a flattened back, while cyanurus has an arched back; with orientalis, the parotid gland is conspicuous, but not so with cyanurus; with cyanurus, the skin is rough, while that of orientalis is smooth. And then of course there's the orange-red round spot behind the eye that's lacking in the case of orientalis, and also the prominent nupial sheen that orientalis lacks. These are among the differences pointed out by Ermi Zhao & Qixiong Hu in their book Chinese Tailed Amphibians.

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

Whereas when they were small, they tended to hang out on the bottom of the tank, they often now hang out near the water surface:

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

This one is perhaps the lightest-colored one of the bunch:

(Message edited by TJ on February 04, 2006)