Luschan's salamander

Luschan's salamander or Lycian salamander (Lyciasalamandra luschani) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in the southwestern Anatolia in Turkey and in adjacent Greece (the island of Kastellorizo and its satellites).[1][2]

Luschan's salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Lyciasalamandra
Species:
L. luschani
Binomial name
Lyciasalamandra luschani
(Steindachner, 1891)
Synonyms[2]

Molge luschani Steindachner, 1891
Mertensiella luschani – Wolterstorff, 1925
Salamandra luschani – Arnold & Burton, 1978
Lyciasalamandra luschani – Veith & Steinfartz, 2004

Description

Luschan's salamander is brown with small yellow dots dorsally, yellow or whitish laterally, and flesh-colored ventrally. The eyes are prominent, as are the narrow paratoid glands. The tail is thin. Males have a protruding "spike" at the base of their tails on the dorsal surface. Adults may grow to 13 cm (5.1 in) in total length.[3]

Reproduction

Luschan's salamanders are viviparous. Females give birth to two offspring that are produced from each of the female's two oviducts. Gestation time ranges from 5-8 months.[4]

Habitat and status

Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Subspecies

The three subspecies are:[2][5]

References
  1. Lymberakis, P.; Kaska, Y.; Kumlutaş, Y.; Avci, A.; Üzüm, N.; Yeniyurt, C.; Akarsu, F.; Tok, V.; Ugurtas, I.H.; Sevinç, M.; Crochet, P.-A.; Papenfuss, T.; Sparreboom, M.; Kuzmin, S.; Anderson, S. & Denoel, M. (2009). "Lyciasalamandra luschani". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T41241A86525768. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T41241A10422896.en.{{cite iucn}}: error: |doi= / |page= mismatch (help)
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Lyciasalamandra luschani (Steindachner, 1891)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. Arnold, E.N and J.A. Burton. 1978. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. Collins. London ISBN 0002199645.
  4. Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 169.
  5. Veith, Michael & Steinfartz, Sebastian (2004). "When non-monophyly results in taxonomic consequences – the case of Mertensiella within the Salamandridae (Amphibia: Urodela)" (PDF). Salamandra. 40 (1): 67–80. ISSN 0036-3375. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-21.
  6. Budak, A. & Göçmen, B. (2005). Herpetology. Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Kitaplar Serisi, No. 194, Ege Üniversitesi Basimevi, Bornova-Izmir
  7. (in Turkish) Bayram Göçmen Archived 2012-12-21 at Archive.today. Fen.ege.edu.tr. Retrieved on 2013-01-03.


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