Japanese vs chinese, which one do i have?

[(unregistered]

i got 2 small newts from the pet store, labled as firebellies. i asked the guy if they were japanese or chinese. he said they were sold to him as japanese, but he didn't know for sure. how do i tell what i have? the small one is about 2 inches and the big one about 3 inches. (including tail)

 

[(unregistered]

(please note that these are the first newts i've ever owned too, so what may be 'obvious', i might be missing.)

 

[nate]

Sound like Cynops orientalis. If so, they will be smaller (up to 9cm or so) and smoother than C. pyrrhogaster with more rounded tail tips. The belly patterns for C. orientalis are pretty uniform too in the sense that they are always orange with small, roundish black spots as seen here:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/3623.jpg

and

http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/caresheets/C_orientalis.html

C. pyrrhogaster on the other hand is much more variable as seen here:

http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/caresheets/C_pyrrhogaster.html