What's this?

[kamil]

Hi Everybody!

I think now I need some help of all the Plethodont-Specialists here.

I took this picture t'day in the Vivarium chemnitz - The animal is described as Eurycea lucifuga there - can anybody tell me what this really is?

Greetings,

Kamil

 

[paris]

its definitely not the cave salamander they claim it is! it looks like a Plethodon jordani
(Jordan's Salamander) there is a picture of one at cc
http://www.caudata.org/cc/images/species/Plethodon/Plethodon_jordaniCOLLINS.jpg

there are some paler species that look alot like it -but if the black is as dark as it looks in that pic (and not a gray) then i think im right on the ID.



(Message edited by paris on July 25, 2004)

 

[kamil]

Thank you Paris! I'm really glad that now I know what there's been under my lense.
The tank was very dark and foggy so it was pretty hard to take it

 

[jesse]

the name escapes me (aswell as my field guide), but it looks like the salamanders that you find in the appalachian mountains im going to go look.....

 

[kamil]

Another Newt where I don't know what this is - can anybody help? (They were declared as pachyhynobius shanghengensis)

 

[david]

Hi Kamil,
my first impression was also pachyhynobius shangchengensis. Or is it perhaps a kind of batrachuperus?
Do you also saw it in the zoo of Chemnitz?
Greets David!

 

[john]

'Tis a fine Plethodontid but sure 'tain't no Pachyhynobius, English.

(Bizarre Simpsons-Amish crossover reference)

If that's confusing to anyone, I said it's a Plethodontid, not a Pachyhynobius.

 

[sergé]

first one is a plethodon jordani to my opinion and the second one indeed a Pachyhynobius (which were imported in Europe a few years ago and do very well), but as far as I know they were not bred yet.

 

[kamil]

Thank you all for your response!
Yes, i took the pictures of both in Chemnitz. The fat head of the Pachyhynobius was the thing, that seduced me to doubt the sign on the tank.
All Pachy's I've seen before (there, too a few years ago) hat tinier heads.
The rest of the pictures I have taken there will be soon available on my website. (But all pics of Cryptobranchus and Andrias failed :-( )

Serge: As far as I know is Kurt Rimpp very engaged in trying breeding P. shanghengensis... But he failed by now.

Greetings,

Kamil

 

[henk]

The reason why this one has such a blotched head is because it is a male... females don't have this.

 

[john]

Now this is interesting. I only saw one photo from my PC in work. I thought you were still talking about the Plethodon. My mistake - I apologise. Yes, second is definitely Pachyhynobius shangchengensis but you knew that already.

 

[edward]

The other possibility for the plethodontid is D. imitator.
Its hard to tell from the picture but the tail looks more keel shaped than jordani.

Ed