Notophthalmus meridionalis (Black-Spotted Newt)

[John]

I visited Fort Worth Zoo today and following a tip from Nate Nelson I found their Black-Spotted Newt tank (Notophthalmus meridionalis). I had never seen this species in person before. I was really struck by how similar they appeared to Triturus/Mesotriton alpestris.

The first photo is a male, the second a female, the third is a pair kind of courting (female following the male). There is a photo of an egg and a spermatophore (sorry about the lower quality of these). Enjoy.

 

[coendeurloo]

To me it looks like: If P. waltl and M. alpestris could mix, this would be the result! Plus a little flavour of a crested.

 

[nate]

Nice work, John! Beautiful animals.

This is, to my thinking, the one species of newt that the hobby really missed out on...the proverbial "perfect pet newt" in terms of size, disposition, and ease of care/breeding.

 

[John]

Yes, I was tempted to ask the keepers if I could take some home . I am sure they would have said no heh, though they had a heck of a lot of these.

 

[carpy]

great pics!

the really striking aspect of these newts to me is the great irridescent green sheen! fantastic!

Alex

 

[bxboy57]

N. meridionalis

Great pics John. Beautiful animals as well. I guess they have a tremendous breeding group of these guys at the zoo. Would you happen to know how scarce they are in the wild? Are they federally protected as well? I'd imagine being they are supposedly easy to keep and breed, that their diminishing habitat is where the true problem lies. Have they ever been in the hobby? I've been in and out of pet shops for years and never seen them. Just curious.

Ken

 

[John]

Great pics John. Beautiful animals as well. I guess they have a tremendous breeding group of these guys at the zoo. Would you happen to know how scarce they are in the wild? Are they federally protected as well? I'd imagine being they are supposedly easy to keep and breed, that their diminishing habitat is where the true problem lies. Have they ever been in the hobby? I've been in and out of pet shops for years and never seen them. Just curious.

Nate, help please.

 

[nate]

The status of these newts in the wild is interesting. I read a report from a couple scientists that were hired to assess the status of these newts for TX Parks & Wildlife in the late 90s. The investigators recommended that the newts did not warrant threatened or endangered status. I've also read elsewhere that due to the vast majority of their range being private land that has never been surveyed for them, and they could be actually be relatively common.

In Mexico, it seems to be in dire straits. Also interesting to note this is the only New World Salamandrid that reaches the tropics.

In any event, TX lists them as endangered, as does the IUCN. Mexico protects all fauna. Basically, there's no way for anyone in the US to have them legally at this point, despite the lack of Federal Listing.

 

[John]

Thanks Nate. And thank you too, Uncle Sam . Nate, you and Ed could fix this couldn't you? Maybe we can lobby Congress. I like this species.

 

[nate]

Yeah, I love them too. These are one of the few newts that can be kept in the 70s F year-round and be happy, healthy, and prolific. Not to mention, there are some males at Ft. Worth that are absolutely stunning color-wise. Maybe one day...

 

[nate]

Here's a photo I posted on the old forums. The shot doesn't really capture the blue colors this animal had as well.

 

[ravenous]

Wow! These are right here at a zoo in Texas? I like these alot, too bad theyre listed as endangered

What are the chances these would enter the trade for captive breeding? Id love to have some of these.

 

[fishkeeper]

From my understanding...not till the laws change. Any extra produced are probably euthanized, fed to the adults, or maybe preserved.

I find it interesting how sometimes the rare species are the ones that do well in captivity. Example would be crested newts being easier than the small bodied, but more common lissotriton.

 

[will_j]

One of my favourites! thanks for the pictures John!