Cynops Orientalis(Chinese Fire Bellied Newt)

[elemental0619]

Just wanted to post some pictures of my Cynops Orientalis or Fire Bellied Newt,sorry for the horrible quality.

 

[John]

Thanks for sharing. That last newt seems rather large. On a different note, are you really from Chile?

 

[andrew]

I don't think you have a chinese fire belly there my friend.....looks more like a Pachytriton

 

[Ed]

I agree that looks very much like a Pachytriton..

Ed

 

[Jennewt]

Yes, it's a paddletail newt. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml

 

[elemental0619]

Thanks for the input guys,o-well what am i gonna do...And yes john i am,i know my skin might look pail but its only because my father is Irish.

 

[John]

Really? So is mine! LOL.

 

[elemental0619]

Hehe,anyway i did notice that the tail did look like a paddletail but i took whatthe pet shop said and believed it eventhough they arnt always right,but its weird because the pet store knows what theyre talking its a little place thats been there for years,whatever.I'll drive over there tommrow and complain since its right up the street.

 

[NewtLover]

i bought 2 paddletails a few weeks ago and think they are awesome

they were labelled as japanese fire bellies in the shop

 

[John]

I've been through what you are describing Steve, about 10 years ago when I knew next to nothing about "exotic" newt species. I got Paramesotriton instead of Cynops and I was mad at the pet shop. They took them back and gave me a refund. In retrospect I think if that happened again I'd keep them. Certainly, if I could keep paddletails I might keep them too. For me now this is rhetorical because I refuse to buy anything that's wild-caught. I'm against the mass collection and mass death of Asian newts, and I don't like to encourage illegal collection of European species either. When you see 19 adult Tylototriton (shanjing and kweichowensis) die slow horrible deaths due to side effects of importation, it will break your heart.