<font color="0000ff"><i>Cynops pyrrhogaster</i> in the wild - <b>Special!</b></font>

[TJ]

Here are some pics of the Sasayama-type ones:

(the 2nd and 3rd pics are of the same individual)

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

(same individual)

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

(Message edited by TJ on August 15, 2004)

 

[TJ]

I'll follow up later with pics of the very different southern ones, but here is a taster:

 

[triton]

The newt on the last picture looks a bit like Ensicauda...
Thank you very much for all those pictures that make me discover the real housing of those newts.
It seems that they all live in a clay substrate, don't they?
Do you know the water quality of those place?
Congratulations that's a great article!!!!

(Message edited by triton on August 15, 2004)

(Message edited by triton on August 15, 2004)

 

[TJ]

Thanks, Triton. After expecting to find C.p.sasayamae in the south as well as the north, I was thrilled to see the orange, relatively unmarked bellies on this southern variety, and they indeed reminded me a bit of some ensicauda I have seen. There are some other interesting differences between Group 1 and Group 2, as you'll see soon.

Most of the C.p habitats that I have seen have fine-granulated, clayish substrates, but I simply don't know enough to be able to draw any conclusions from this. I have so far found pyrrhogaster in ponds, irrigation ditches, rice paddies, pools fed by slow-flowing streams, etc.

No, I haven't tested the water quality in any of the places I have visited. I think testing for PH and such wouldn't tell me much. The biggest cause of extirpation of this relatively hardy species, with the possible exception of pond conversion and other types of development, seems to be the widespread use of agricultural pesticides in recent decades. I hear the same thing from farmers and other locals everywhere I go, how pyrrhogaster used to be present in large numbers before pesticide spraying (including the use of DDT for many years) became widespread and commonplace. The extent of loss of habitat for this species is really outrageous.

 

[TJ]

I neglected to mention that the habitat of the "northern variety" Hyogo pyrrhogaster shown in the above pics is a naturally populated, fish-free, artificial pond that is located on the slope of a forested hill in a remote, sparsely-populated area. I'll show some pics later of Sasayama pyrrhogaster (adults and larvae) in a different habitat in the same general area

 

[triton]

I was meaning in water quality, PH, GH,KH (my english is not that good, so tell me when you don't understand

) just in the way to re-create those in captivity...

You make great job!
Give us some more!!!

 

[TJ]

Hi Triton. Your English is fine and your meaning came through. But what I meant to say was that in my understanding, C.pyrrhogaster is a hardy and opportunistic newt, so measuring the PH, GH, KH, etc. in one or even a few of its habitats may not necessarily yield clues as to ideal captive environment. Some of the places I have found them in don't seem to be worthy of recreating at all

They are probably only there because they have no choice. This is certainly not a demanding newt in terms of water quality, relatively speaking. And the other thing I meant to say was that whether a natural habitat is suitable or not for this species is not so much an issue of water chemistry as it is the presence or absence of pesticides. And to some extent predatory fish too, though one can still find these newts in water bodies shared with fish, crayfish and crabs. Also, they are to be found in places where the morphs can safely disperse and grow to adulthood. But ah yes, I do understand you are approaching the matter from the captive care perspective

Perhaps next time I'll endeavor to check the water chemistry

 

[triton]

Now I understand!

!
Thank you again Tim for what you did there!

 

[TJ]

Sure thing

Here is a "Group 1" adult C.p from a different part of the same general area in northern Hyogo, along with a couple larvae found by some local kids who joined in the hunt.

 

[TJ]

(seemingly unperturbed by being taken captive, it munches on a live shrimp

)

 

[joseph]

Tim: All your pics seem to show these guys over "mud"....have you ever found them over sand?

 

[TJ]

Well, Joseph, they do tend to be found in muddy areas (and must swallow a lot of it while feeding!). Here is a pic of one in southern Hyogo that's on what I guess one could call sand. But it only took a slight stirring of the water to turn this pool so muddy that nothing could be seen -- and it remained that way even an hour afterward! I generally use my hands to catch them rather than a net in order to minimize such disturbances. I temporarily captured about 20 from this particular pool before it became impossible to see anything.

 

[joseph]

Well, thats something albeit impossible to duplicate in captivity eh? I bet C. o also lives over similar substrate.