Salamandrina perspicillata

[francesco]

Enjoy!

 

[kamil]

Thank you again - lovely species!!!

 

[justin]

Those are really incredible. Thank you also for the habitat shot, for those of us not near them it brings things into perspective well.
j

 

[kei]

Thank you for good pics.
How is it different from Salamandrina terdigitata?

 

[william]

great pictures!

Kei:
It lived in the north part of the old terdigitata, csn't remember the river that seperates them, perhaps Francesco could help out? I think there are also minor differences in colouration

 

[francesco]

Thank you guys!
basically they're the same, terdigitata is slightly smaller and they differ somehow in colour of the upper portion of the tail. One was bright red, the other more orangy but I can't remember which one and I don't really believe in colour pattern as a marker for distinguishing species...

 

[christian]

lovely species and great pictures!

 

[kei]

Thank you for the info.
Is anybody knows why they were divided into two species when they are morphologicaly similar?

 

[kamil]

Hello Kei,

this is what Paolo Mazzei wrote to me in an Italian Forum:

"According to Nascetti, Zangari and Canestrelli (The spectacled salamanders, genetic differentiation and evolutionary history, 2005), populations spanning from Liguria to central Campania have been recognized under the name S. perspicillata, whereas the name S. terdigitata was retained for populations from central Campania to the tip of Calabria. The Volturno river drainage basin was suggested as the area of possible close contiguity between the two species, although their reciprocal distribution has not yet been clarified.

From the same work, geographic location of the 12 populations sampled:"

 

[kei]

Thanks Kamil.

How does it recognize male and female? Is there any sexual dimorphism?

 

[francesco]

Females are slightly larger and plumper especially when pregnant

 

[sergé]

P.s. the species are not morfological similar, there are many differences, they are in being published.

 

[francesco]

If I had in one hand S. perspicillata and in the other S. terdigitata I challenge anyone to tell just by giving them a glance which is which. This is what I meant.
Sergè: do you know when the article is going to come out? I'd be very interested in reading it.
Ciao

 

[sergé]

Nope, sorry, but I know your fellow Italians are working hard on it.
And the differences between the two species are comparable with other closely related species, like Brown or Green frogs and some lizards species or even salamander species like Lissotriton. It comes to details but if you have seen a few of both you will certainly know in 90% of the cases which is which.

 

[kei]

Sergé, could you explain the morphological differences between these two species? Thanks a lot.

 

[sergé]

Roughly they are published in:
S. BOGAERTS & F. PASMANS, 2005. Salamandrina terdigitata and other Urodels from Italy. amphibia 4(2): 4-11.
In more scientific detail they will be published.

The southern ones are significantly smaller than the northen ones. The coloration of all southern
salamanders is different in having a broader
and mostly light yellow to white coloured
spectacle and the presence of greyish blue and
light brown markings on dorsum and tail. The
northern animals have a uniformly black or
dark grey dorsum and tail without brownish or
bluish coloration and their spectacles are
smaller and darker yellow.

 

[kei]

Thank you very much for the information, Serg$B!&(B