Triturus pygmaeus-Developing larvae

[terry]

I've decided to start up a new thread because the last thread was getting full and for some people it was taking a long time for the page to load due to the amount of picture material.

So here they are: Developing Triturus pygmaeus larvae!

This one is slowly loosing it's egg-yolk and may begin feeding soon.

This one is still pretty young and it is one of the larvae I hatched artificially from an eggsac.

I'm sorry if the photos turned out a little dark as there was insufficient sunlight and I dreaded using the flash.

 

[josh]

In the other thread I had thought that when you said that the larvae had woulden't come out of their eggs I thought you meant it had hatched (like put a hole through the egg big enough to come out )but woulden't come out of the eggsac

(Message edited by twig on November 16, 2005)

(Message edited by twig on November 16, 2005)

(Message edited by twig on November 16, 2005)

 

[terry]

Hello Josh!

I meant that the larvae merely delayed hatching . They remained in their egg-sac. Unbroken. I merely pierced their egg-sac to enable them to wriggle out on their own. That was my way of artificially hatching them.

The Larvae are now developing their fore-legs, seen as little stubs just behind the gills.

Not really mid-water feeding yet but that is to come. Some seem to develop faster than the others.

 

[josh]

Yeah I diden't see that post 'till then lol

 

[terry]

The differences of the larvae hatched earlier are pretty obvious. Some are already loosing their prominent stripes and their fore-legs are developing. I do not know how long before they turn limnetic but I'll keep an eye on that. The other larva is only a few days old

Here is a photo of another lone pygmy larva:

(Message edited by terryschild on November 19, 2005)

 

[terry]

The larvae are now limnetic. The swim in mid-water and feed on the young daphnia and small cyclops which swim around in the nursery. I need not add food to their tank as their are well adapted in feeding themselves. Water from the parents tank contained micro-organisms that will sustain them. It also sustained a larva hatched within the adult tank! That one was somewhat more developed. The Adults did not bother it but i took no chances.

 

[alex]

A wise decision Terry to take the larva out of the tank. In my experience with marmoratus it was not unusual for the parents to eat one of their larvae. Although the adults were well fed and used to take larger prey. They didn't really hunt the larvae, but as soon as one came in front of them they just couldn't let it go.

 

[terry]

The larvae have grown somewhat and one larva in particular is somewhat larger than the rest. Being a mid water feeder, it seeks out copepods and daphnia. Here is a photo I took this morning.

Here is the same larva from the side.

 

[terry]

Finally an update on the pygmaeus larvae. I chose the largest larva to date for a photography session. The fore limbs are rather long and well developed and at this stage the hind limbs are forming.

Here is a close up photo of the very same larva.
Tim:
Note the difference in the pigmentation in this larva and mine. The spots in the tail fin differ somewhat.