Cynops O. male or female?

[fire_newt]

Just wondering if my Cynops O. is a male or female. I thought for a long time he was a male, but I'm beginning to question my reasoning. He, she, it......

 

[fire_newt]

by the way the newt in question is the smaller one with less spots on his belly. I put the female in there for a size comparison. (s)he's just a skinny little fart!

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

Just wondering if my Cynops O. is a male or female. I thought for a long time he was a male, but I'm beginning to question my reasoning. He, she, it......

The smaller one is definitely a male and obviously the bigger one is the female. In that 3rd photo showing the underside of bellies, its obvious the smaller is a male due to the size of the cloaca. If your still not certain there are care sheets that may cover gender as well as other requirements.

Here is a link to a care sheet that has pictures of males.
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly

 

[fire_newt]

are males generally THAT much smaller? I knew that there was a size difference but he's so TINY! He is about 4 to 5 years old.

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

are males generally THAT much smaller? I knew that there was a size difference but he's so TINY! He is about 4 to 5 years old.

They can be that much smaller. From my experience males can generally be 3-4 inches.

 

[fire_newt]

Are you sure, because the male in question has a long tail and has a more rounded tip to it (both mostly female traits).

 

[Azhael]

The rounded tip is mostly associated with females, actually.
I´d say it´s a male, too, judging by the general morphology and the shorter tail, but since it is out of breeding season and the cloaca is therefore in an "inactive state" i would leave a little bit of doubt. It COULD be female, but i doubt it very much.
I have a young male, fully mature that is under 6cm long (less than 2,4 inches) so yeah, they can be pretty small. They continue to grow throughout their lives, though, so they do get larger, but nevertheless more than 8cm for a male is rare.

I see it´s missing a limb, is the wound progressing well? Was it caused by a tank mate or did you acquire it in that state?

 

[fire_newt]

It was an accidental bite and death roll from the female. The foot fell off, the bone broke off, and the skin had grow over the wound. It's gotten a little longer since it happened. I'm not sure how fast these things are supposed to progress, but I think it's going pretty good so far. He hasn't been acting lethargic and he doesn't seem stressed in any way (he's active and spends all his time in the water). He's also DETERMINED to catch one of the guppies in the tank, he's been chasing them around the tank all day.

 

[Azhael]

Ah, that´s good then. If the wound has healed well there´s nothing to worry about, it will regenerate the limb on time. Be patient xD