Bosca's newt

Boscá's newt (Lissotriton boscai, formerly Triturus boscai ), also known as the Iberian newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. The species is found in Portugal and western Spain.

Boscá's newt
Ventral surface
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Lissotriton
Species:
L. boscai
Binomial name
Lissotriton boscai
(Lataste, 1879)
Synonyms
  • Triturus boscai
    Lataste, 1879
  • Lophinus boscai
    — Litvinchuk et al., 2005

Etymology

The specific name boscai is in honor of Spanish herpetologist Eduardo Boscá.[2]

Description

The female is up to 94 millimeters long and the male up to 75 millimeters. There are glandular ridges along the back and the skin is granular in texture when the newt is living out of water. The body is brownish, yellowish, or dull green with dark spotting. The belly is orange. Unlike some of its congeners, this species is not especially showy during the breeding season. The male develops a brightly colored protuberance at the tip of the tail.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This newt is mostly aquatic, living in shallow ponds and streams lined with vegetation. It can be found in disturbed and artificial water bodies, such as ditches. It is known from oak woodland habitat, scrub, sandy coastal strips, and farms and plantations.[1]

Conservation

Populations are stable and the species is not considered to be threatened, but in some areas it experiences losses due to the destruction and degradation of its aquatic habitat.[1]

References
  1. Arntzen, J. W., et al. 2009. Lissotriton boscai. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009. Downloaded on 28 June 2016.
  2. Beolens, B., Watkins, M., and Grayson, M. 2013. The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Exeter, England: Pelagic Publishing Ltd. 262 pp. ISBN 978-1-907807-41-1.
  3. Lissotriton boscai. AmphibiaWeb.

Further reading
  • Arnold EN, Burton JA. 1978. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. London: Collins. 272 pp. + Plates 1-40. ISBN 0 00 219318 3. (Triturus boscai, pp. 51–52 + Plate 4 + Map 16).
  • Tourneville A. 1879. "Description d'une nouvelle espèce de batracien urodèle d'Espagne ( Pelonectes boscai Lataste) ". Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 4: 69–87. ("Pelonectes boscai Lataste", new species). (in French).


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