Lissotriton Mesotriton larvae comparison

[MCampbell]

Does anyone have pictures of developing larvae of Lissotriton vulgaris and Mesotriton alpestris apuanus? I'd like to see images of both larvae from early development stages to see if they can differentiated from each other early on or if they have to have some age on them before the can be distinguished from each other.

 

[caleb]

You may know this already, but I find the easiest way to tell is the shape and pigmentation of the tail.

T./L. vulgaris larvae have tails that taper gradually to a point; T./M. alpestris larvae have tails with a blunt or rounded end.

T./L. vulgaris larvae have unmarked or weakly marked tails; T./M. alpestris larvae have heavily spotted or marbled tails.

I've never needed to distinguish very young larvae, but I'd guess that it would be difficult to be 100% sure before the back legs appear.

There are some reasonable photos of larvae of both species at http://www.whose-tadpole.de, though not of very young ones, unfortunately.

 

[andrew_taricha]

here are some pics of my apuanus larvae from last year. they are not the best pics but i hope they help