Salamandrella keyserlingii

Salamandrella keyserlingii

Siberian salamander

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SPECIES
Salamandrella keyserlingii

Salamandrella keyserlingii, the Siberian salamander, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. It lives in wet woods and riparian groves.

Appearance

Adults are from 9.0 to 12.5 cm in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. Thin, dark brown stripes occur between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. Four clawless toes are on each foot. The tail is longer than the body.

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A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a female typically laying up to 240 eggs in a season. The light-brown eggs hatch three to four weeks after being laid, releasing larval salamanders of 11–12 mm in length.

The species is known for surviving deep freezes (as low as −45 °C). In some cases, they have been known to remain frozen in permafrost for years, and upon thawing, walking off.

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Distribution

Geography

It is found primarily in Siberia east of the Sosva River and the Urals, in the East Siberian Mountains, including the Verkhoyansk Range, northeast to the Anadyr Highlands, east to the Kamchatka Peninsula and south into Manchuria, with outlying populations also in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, northeastern China, and on the Korean Peninsula. It is believed to be extirpated from South Korea. An isolated population exists on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. A breeding ground of Siberian salamanders in Paegam, South Hamgyong, is designated North Korean natural monument #360.

Habits and Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Population

References

1. Salamandrella keyserlingii Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamandrella_keyserlingii
2. Salamandrella keyserlingii on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59114/11883606

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