The gold-striped salamander or golden-striped salamander (''Chioglossa lusitanica'') is a species of

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

in the family

Salamandridae Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough skin. Their skin is v ...

. It is the only species of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Chioglossa''. It is found in the north-west of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) at an altitude of up to 1,300 m. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

Chioglossa lusitanica descrição original Bocage

The gold-striped salamander is a short-legged salamander with protruding eyes and a tail that makes up 2/3 of its total length. It has a smooth upper side with 10-11 coastal grooves which are dark brown to blackish and usually two parallel golden stripes on the back which can sometimes be broken. It is an agile terrestrial amphibian, and is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. It may

shed A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones de ...

its

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

like a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

if it feels threatened, and lives for about eight to 10 years. It feeds primarily on

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, using its sticky tongue to catch them. They mate on land with

clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

of 12-20 eggs laid between stones in running water or on the walls of

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. The

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

develop in water. The species has two described subspecies, ''C. l. lusitanica'' and ''C. l. longipes''.JAN W. ARNTZEN, DICK S. J. GROENENBERG, JOÃO ALEXANDRINO, NUNO FERRAND & FERNANDO SEQUEIRA (2007
Geographical variation in the golden-striped salamander, Chioglossa lusitanica Bocage, 1864 and the description of a newly recognized subspecies.
''Journal of Natural History'', 41(13–16): 925–936.

Distribution and habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

are moist

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forests near streams in mountainous areas of northwest Spain and north and central Portugal and has been introduced in the

Sintra Mountains The Sintra Mountains ( pt, Serra de Sintra), is a mountain range in western Portugal. Its highest point is at 529 meters (1,736 ft) near Sintra. The range covers about 16 kilometers (10 mi) from the resort town of Sintra to ''(Cape R ...

, but is also found in eucalypt plantations, pine forests and even shrubland. The species has also been recorded from caves and abandoned flooded mines. It occurs in several protected areas including the Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal and the

Picos de Europa National Park The Picos de Europa National Park ( es, Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa) is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is within the boundaries of three autonomous communities, Asturias, Cantabria and Castil ...

, Spain.

Threats

The species is threatened by replacement of its habitat (especially in Spain) and fires (especially in Portugal).

Notes and references

References

* Jan Willem Arntzen, Jaime Bosch, Mathieu Denoël, Miguel Tejedo, Paul Edgar, Miguel Lizana, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Alfredo Salvador, Mario García-París, Ernesto Recuero Gil, Paulo Sá-Sousa, Rafael Marquez 2008.
Chioglossa lusitanica

2010.1 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 16 May 2010. * New Holland European Reptile and Amphibian Guide. *There is a ship in halo 3 ODST called the "Chioglossa" that is visible for a brief moment during the opening of the game

External links

Pate at Amphibiaweb

Page at NCBI

Page at ARKive
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1475285, from2=Q11842254 Salamandridae Endemic amphibians of the Iberian Peninsula Amphibians described in 1864 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot