Spectacled salamander
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Description |
This small Urodelan, endemic species of Italian vertebrates, can
be found only on the Apennine Range mainly in Thyrrhenian slope.
It is one of the amphibian species thought as an important
indicator of environments with a high grade of naturality.
A distinctive mark of this species is the presence of 4 fingers
on hind legs instead of 5, like the other Urodelans (Salamanders
and Newts). The back, brown-blackish coloured, has a warty
appearance with a seeming rib structure on flanks, and a
white-cream, horizontal “eight-shaped” stain placed on its head
in the middle of the eyes. The belly has a contrasting colouring:
black and white stains, while the lower parts of legs and tail
are sparkling red. |
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Behaviour |
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The Spectacled Salamander (Salamandrina Terdigitata) mainly
lives in high dampness conditions and comes out at night or in
dreary days. If disturbed, it raises the tail and the legs (Unkenreflex),
showing the bright red of its ventral parts, in order to
disorient the predators. This behaviour, used by other
amphibians such as Newts, Apennine Toad and Spotted Salamander,
is called aposematism. The Spectacled Salamander is one of the
amphibians less connected with the water environment in which it
goes just to lay the eggs. Indeed the males, once carried out
the metamorphosis, never go in the water again, feeding and
breeding on ground. |
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Feeding |
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The larvae feed on water invertebrates while the fully-grown
specimens on the terrestrial ones, such as Pulmonate Mollusks (snails,
slugs) and arthropods. |
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Habitat |
The Spectacled Salamander lives in forest, hill and mountain
environments between 200 and 600 meters, next to the water flows
and hidden among the rocks and the bedstead.
During the wintering and the aestivation mainly remains
underground, sometimes in depths above the meter, in caves or
inside the dry stone walls. |
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Sighting |
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Since its nocturnal habits, its small size and the mimic
coloration of its back it is difficult to sight it. |
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Life Span |
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The data concerning its longevity in nature are not known.
However in captivity some specimens reached 10 years. |
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Edited by Dr. Marco Carafa |
Aposematism: it deals with a behaviour used by different amphifibians
the slow movements of which don’t allow them an effective escape. Hence, the
yellow-orange coloration on a dark background of the Spotted Salamander or
the yellow-dark bluish, marbled belly of Apennine Toad are effective defence
tools, often associated with the secretion of toxic substances that covers
its body and makes undesirable the animal.
For a better understanding of this ethologic phenomenon, known as
aposematism, I can tell you about the last summer when my dog, an Abruzzi
Shepherd puppy, met for the first time a Spotted Salamander: at first moment
it was attracted by the contrast of its body and by the slow movements so it
begun annoying the poor animal. But, once tried out its taste, my dog
assumed so strong loathing expressions that started eating fresh moss to
wash its mouth from that horrible taste! The lesson was so effective that
now my dog is still afraid of Salamanders.
In the same way, a young jay or a cub of fox learn to remove from their
feeding those yellow and black animals.
