Crests on female marmoratus?

[paris]

here is a pic of my female marmoratus, she has had a slight crest and a slight white tail sheen ever since she became aquatic, has any one else seen this in their females? the crest may be explained as vestigial but it may serve a slight purpose for her in additional surface area for cutaneous respiration. it is noticeable and will go away when she goes back to land.

here is a bad pic which shows her whitish area on her tail

 

[francesco]

I've heard in the past of female carnifex turning into males. Perhaps that's what's happening to her.

 

[paris]

right now she is laying fertile eggs, i was worried when i first saw her, but since she is productive she must still be female enough.

 

[jennifer]

I've seen a bit of the white tail color on female marmoratus, but I'm quite surprised to see the mini-crest. That's unusual.

 

[pin-pin]

Paris, I had some females that had crests as well! It confused me for quite awhile.

On a completely separate note, marms are funny and my tank is dusty.

 

[paris]

pin pin,
were they old large females or young ones? i was wondering if it was related to size...

 

[TJ]

Pretty butch, Paris! It'll be interesting to see if females among her progeny end up with similar features. I notice she has a white belly like mine do, and which some people around here seem to find odd for this species.

And hey, what say we all chip in and get Pin-pin some Windex for Christmas!

 

[terry]

We are most certainly not looking at another marmoratus/pygmaeus debate are we

. Some races of marbled newts have white bellies. I compared my female with Paris'. There is a similarity as far as colour goes. note the belly and the prominent sheen on the side of her tail.:

compare it to a typical male in breeding dress:

So are we looking at Paris'female as a sort of hermaphrodite? Or a female changing sex? (If so yay for Paris! Long live the freaks!)

 

[pin-pin]

Mine should be about a year old, Paris.

 

[sergé]

Terry, yours are definately pygameus, now i see the male with a typical pygmaeus crest and coloration.
Crests in females are not common, but I have seen it before, like the devellopment of bigger lips it occurs in some populations or in some animals.

 

[pamela]

Awesome observation, beautiful creatures.