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Hida Salamander (<i>Hynobius kimurae</i>) in the wild
- Thread starter TJ
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T
terry
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I have got to get one of those containers! It makes photography, viewing and measuring oh so much easier!
How long are these larvae? What are the parameters of it's habitat?
How long are these larvae? What are the parameters of it's habitat?
TJ
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Hi Terry, yeah, that's a great container. Not mine, but I'm soon going to get one made for me, and adhere a measure to it.
That first larva is fairly big, at about 7 cm. The smaller two larvae below it are about 5 cm.
Regarding H. kimurae habitat, this is what Goris & Maeda have to say in their Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan:
<font color="0000ff">"These salamanders live in both deciduous and confer forests on the slopes of hills and mountains, often above 1000 m. They disperse on the slopes and live in moist places under old logs, large rocks, forest litter in seepage areas, etc....This is a brook-breeding species, laying its egg sacs under rocks in the headwaters or side rivulets of mountain brooks, usually in eddies where the current is not too strong."</font>
One has to hike up steep brooks to be able to find adults and egg sacs, both of which were also found on this trip. The larvae can be found downstream -- under rocks, not out in the open as that first picture may seem to suggest.
(Message edited by TJ on March 27, 2006)
That first larva is fairly big, at about 7 cm. The smaller two larvae below it are about 5 cm.
Regarding H. kimurae habitat, this is what Goris & Maeda have to say in their Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan:
<font color="0000ff">"These salamanders live in both deciduous and confer forests on the slopes of hills and mountains, often above 1000 m. They disperse on the slopes and live in moist places under old logs, large rocks, forest litter in seepage areas, etc....This is a brook-breeding species, laying its egg sacs under rocks in the headwaters or side rivulets of mountain brooks, usually in eddies where the current is not too strong."</font>
One has to hike up steep brooks to be able to find adults and egg sacs, both of which were also found on this trip. The larvae can be found downstream -- under rocks, not out in the open as that first picture may seem to suggest.
(Message edited by TJ on March 27, 2006)
J
joan
Guest
A ghostly egg sac??
Very nice, Tim. You never cease to amaze.
Very nice, Tim. You never cease to amaze.
T
terry
Guest
ah Tim! the egg sac with a blue hue! This is arguably one of my favourite egg sac pics. The description and the lifestyle of H. kimurae remind me of salmon. Adults spawning upstream and the larvae to be found at somewhat lower levels downstream. I wonder if the behave like salmon as their mature? Interesting, no?
Thanks very much for the information Tim.
Thanks very much for the information Tim.
W
william
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beautiful salamander, but in my opinion you can't beat stejnegeri! but that egg sack is amazing!
TJ
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It sure is a thing of beauty
The blue hue shows when it's in the water and light reflects on it. I just now replaced the picture that was there before with one not sharpened or color-adjusted.
I posted a much better picture of H. kimurae egg sacs before at:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/14577.jpg
I had thought that amonng Japanese hynobiids, it was only H. kimurae egg sacs that show this bluish hue, but was recently told that's not so, that egg sacs of H. naevius and other stream-breeding hynobiids do so too.
Out of the water, the sacs are more yellowish. I'll show some of those pictures later.
William, I agree with you on that. But there's considerable variation in H. kimurae, and some of them, namely the ones from western Japan, rival H. stejnegeri in beauty. Like this one:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/36351.jpg
(Message edited by TJ on March 30, 2006)
I posted a much better picture of H. kimurae egg sacs before at:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/14577.jpg
I had thought that amonng Japanese hynobiids, it was only H. kimurae egg sacs that show this bluish hue, but was recently told that's not so, that egg sacs of H. naevius and other stream-breeding hynobiids do so too.
Out of the water, the sacs are more yellowish. I'll show some of those pictures later.
William, I agree with you on that. But there's considerable variation in H. kimurae, and some of them, namely the ones from western Japan, rival H. stejnegeri in beauty. Like this one:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/36351.jpg
(Message edited by TJ on March 30, 2006)
W
william
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A
aki
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WOW Tim! Your adult picks turned out pretty well indeed. I am amazed...
TJ
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Not at all. I'm waiting for you <font size="-2">(my�@travel partner to this locale and others)</font> to reveal the true glory of these animals -- especially their egg sacs when they're in the water
All my pics of the egg sacs out of the water were overexposed...
(by the way, that larvae in the first pic is the large one you didn't get a chance to see because it swam away)
(Message edited by TJ on April 20, 2006)
All my pics of the egg sacs out of the water were overexposed...
(by the way, that larvae in the first pic is the large one you didn't get a chance to see because it swam away)
(Message edited by TJ on April 20, 2006)