Paramesotriton maximum length

[TJ]

Can anybody top this?

(19cm or 7-and-and-half inches if perfectly straight)

 

[nate]

Well, deloustali is known to reach 20cm...hmmmm....

 

[juraj]

What a monster! Can you expose ventral side too ?

 

[TJ]

Hi Juraj.

It's already been exposed:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/18861.jpg

http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/18843.jpg

Their belly pattern is dissimilar to deloustali, at least in my recollection.

I have a pair of this species, roughly the same size.
I'll put up a belly shot, with them together, next chance I get

 

[juraj]

Hello Tim
Yes the belly pattern is completely different from deloustali.

 

[nate]

Do you guys have access to a variety of deloustali belly patterns from different populations or something?

 

[edward]

I thought deloustali was restricted to basically one very small steam at one locality.

Ed

 

[TJ]

No, Ed, deloustali has a wider range than originally thought. Its
distribution includes Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Bac Can, Lao Cai and Yen Bai
provinces, from what I have read.


See:
http://www.wing-wbsj.or.jp/~vietnam/pdf/reportHG.pdf

 

[TJ]

Nate, I've only seen a few belly pics of deloustali, and I'm only guessing that the one pictured at the top is not the same species. I certainly don't know for sure. I'll post a couple of deloustali pics here, starting with this one from the above report:

 

[TJ]

Here's a AmphiaWeb pic by Sparreboom:

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/1111_1111/1111/0556.jpeg

 

[TJ]

This is no proof, but here are the bellies of the ones I had briefly that I suspect were deloustali

 

[TJ]

Hold on, there are more. Take these for instance:

source: http://www.undp.org.vn/projects/parc/docs/bn25.pdf

Now, I have to track down the National Geographic pics...

 

[TJ]

Here it is:

Source: "Tam Dao -- Sanctuary Under Seige"
National Geographic (vol.195, No. 6, June 1999):

 

[edward]

Thanks Tim,

Ed

 

[nate]

Heh, well you've certainly seen more bellies than I'd thought

The newt presents us with a few choices...either it's a guangxiensis that is inexplicably 5-7cm larger than normal, it's deloustali, or it's one of the undescribed Paramesotriton that show up. Or at least, I think undescribed species show up, but I'm sort of in a minority on that one I think. The belly patterns on these animals are not too far removed from the deloustali pattern see on the far right of the second photo of your 6th post on this thread. What do you think?

 

[TJ]

Nate, I can see what you're saying. With mine, however, the red blotches are more jagged, less rounded than is the case with the deloustali pictured above, though I know that's not conclusive...

I have a pair of them, and the vent on one of the two is even more different than those pictured above. One of them is darker than the other and the vent pattern is a bit like that of a P.chinensis, but given their similar size and overall appearance, I assume they're the same species (and I don't mean chinensis).

One explanation for the size was that the person who kept it for at least several years before me fed it large amounts of food, including giant mealworms, so I hear. In fact, that person is the same as that who kept the huge C.ensicauda that I recently posted a pic of, and he also possessed a truly massive T.verrucosus...

 

[juraj]

breed please !

 

[edward]

Tim,
On a random thought were they fed Zoophobas or the giant Tenebrio larva?
I ask as the giant Tenebrio are hormone fed to prevent metamorphosis are are a larger size as a result.
I wonder if the hormones had anything to do with the size of these as well as the giant cynops.
Ed

 

[joseph]

When the saying "This thing must be on steroids!" Is a reality!

 

[juraj]

Making ´false zophobas´from tenebrio by hormones ?