Asia Minor Newt (Triturus Vittatus)

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

The Asia Minor newt, or the striped newt (Triturus vittatus), is a very elegant amphibian. Males in breeding plumage have a very high serrated ridge that breaks off at the base of the tail. Lives at an altitude of 600-2750 above sea level. in clean, flowing water bodies with rich aquatic vegetation. In the water, adult newts hunt aquatic molluscs, crustaceans, insects and their larvae. Reproduction and development of larvae occurs in water.

Area

Israel, Syria, Asia Minor, Caucasus, Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey. Lives at an altitude of 600-2750 above sea level.

Appearance

The Asia Minor newt is a very elegant amphibian. The tail is wide, slightly longer or equal to the length of the body with the head. The skin is smooth or slightly grainy. The limbs and fingers are long, the third toe is sometimes longer than the forearm, and the fourth toe is longer than the thigh. Males in breeding plumage have a very high serrated ridge that breaks off at the base of the tail. The dorsal part of the ridge has vertical stripes, reminiscent of the rays of fins in fish. The limbs and toes of female newts are shorter than those of males.

Color

The back of the males is bronze-olive, with dark spots; there is a silvery stripe on the sides of the body, bordered above and below by dark stripes. On the sides of the tail there are two longitudinal dark stripes passing into a series of transverse elongated spots. The belly is without spots, orange-yellow. Females are more uniformly colored, brown-olive, yellow belly, silvery stripe on the sides of the body is weakly expressed. Young Asia Minor newts are dark brown in color with a light pattern on the back.

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The size

The length of males with a tail is up to 17 cm, of females - up to 15 cm.

Life span

In captivity, males of Asia Minor newts live up to 12 years, and females - up to 21 years.

Habitat

Clean, flowing water bodies with rich aquatic vegetation. Coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests (consisting of birch, oak, hornbeam, alder, chestnut, beech, rhododendron, etc.) to subalpine meadows.

Enemies

The enemies include invertebrates and vertebrates, some types of amphibians.

Nutrition / food

In water, an adult Asian Minor newt hunts aquatic molluscs, crustaceans, insects and their larvae, small newts and tadpoles. On land, they eat small insects, wood lice, spiders and worms. In early autumn, it begins to actively hunt, preparing for hibernation. He catches prey with the tongue.

Behavior

The Asia Minor newt leads a secretive lifestyle, preferring to hide under stones, fallen trees, in the forest floor or under the bark of trees. In the hot period, it does not hunt, loses weight and dies. Leaves water bodies in summer or early autumn. Wintering begins in September-October, ends in February-March at low altitudes, in April-May at high altitudes. Winters on land: in rotten trees, between stones, in burrows. Newts living at low altitudes are active all year round in warm years, living in the water until late autumn.

Reproduction

Reproduction and development of the larvae of the Asia Minor newt occur in stagnant and low-flowing water bodies (pH = 7.2-8.5), low and medium mineralization. In case of the death of spawning grounds, migrations of 1.5-2 km to neighboring water bodies were noted. The male lays spermatophores at a temperature of 5-7 ° C, the female lays eggs at a water temperature of 9 ° C. An increase in water temperature to 15 ° C is a threshold for the completion of mating activity and for the male to lose mating jewelry. The male leaves odorous marks on underwater objects, which contain information about which species and sex this individual belongs to, with their help he finds a female. During this period, the male develops a high serrated ridge (after spawning, it disappears), the swimming membranes on the hind limbs are expanded. The male begins to behave aggressively towards other males. Each male protects his territory,here he lays out his spermatophores. The spermatophore is 5-7 mm in size (about 1 mm in diameter). One female can lay up to 100 eggs (egg diameter 2-3 mm). Eggs are deposited one by one on the leaves of aquatic plants, and then the female folds the leaves with her hind paws, as if gluing the eggs in them. In the nesting places among the females of the Asian Minor newt, there are often cases of eating the eggs of other females. At the end of reproduction, newts go on land and until next spring are terrestrial, mainly nocturnal. In the nesting places among the females of the Asian Minor newt, there are often cases of eating the eggs of other females. At the end of reproduction, newts go on land and until next spring are terrestrial, mainly nocturnal. In the nesting places among the females of the Asian Minor newt, there are often cases of eating the eggs of other females. At the end of reproduction, newts go on land and until next spring are terrestrial, mainly nocturnal.

Breeding season

Reproduction occurs at the end of February - July, depending on the weather and altitude. In the highlands, the breeding season lasts until the end of July. Breeding peaks in April-May.

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Puberty

Maturation occurs at the age of 3-5 years.

Courtship ritual

The female of the newt accompanies the male, whose crest is spread. The male straightens his hind legs, and moving tensely, shakes his whole body finely. Then he stands sideways to the female, his body falls forward, the comb covers the female, the tail bends at the base (with this movement, the male pushes the water towards the female). Further, the male sharply flaps his tail, jumps to the side and strongly pushes the male to the side with the end of the muzzle. This behavior is repeated several times in a row, after which the male leaves, straining his paws and scraping them on the ground. After a few seconds, the male raises his tail at an angle of 30-40 ° and presses its tip to the dorsal ridge. Thus, he attaches a spermatophore to the substrate, which the female captures with her cloaca.

Photo © Vide Ohlin

Incubation

Egg incubation lasts 12-30 days.

Development

Newborn larvae are 10-12 mm long. They begin to swim three days after birth, after 5-6 days they begin to feed on their own. Development, from the moment of laying eggs to complete metamorphosis, takes 5.5-6 months. Sometimes the larvae hibernate in water bodies and undergo metamorphosis the following spring. Complete metamorphosis occurs in July-September, when the larvae grow to 28-32 mm. Young newts that emerge on land reach a length of about 4 cm. The larvae of the Asia Minor newt eat microforms, molluscs and insects, while young newts hunt dipterans, springtails, and aphids.

Population / conservation status

The Asia Minor newt is included in the Red Book of Russia, Georgia. Mentioned in the Berne Agreement (Appendix II). In the North Caucasus, in water bodies, the population density sometimes reaches up to 179 specimens per 1 m ³.