The Fuding fire belly newt (''Cynops fudingensis'') is a rare species of

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is only known from

Fuding () is a county-level city in northeastern Ningde prefecture-level city, on Fujian's border with Zhejiang province. History Fuding county was established during the Qing Dynasty in 1739 AD. On December 15, 1950, the Matsu Administrative Office ( ...

in northeastern

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

, from the locality where it was described as a new species in 2010. Although it is genetically similar to the

Chinese fire belly newt The Chinese fire belly newt (''Cynops orientalis'') is a small () black newt, with bright-orange aposematic coloration on their ventral sides. ''C. orientalis'' is commonly seen in pet stores, where it is frequently confused with the Japanese f ...

(''C. orientalis''), it is morphologically more similar to the Dayang fire belly newt (''C. orphicus''). The range of ''C. fudingensis'' is separate from both other species. A revised taxonomy of Salamandridae places this species (together with all other Chinese species of ''Cynops'') in genus ''Hypselotriton''. ''Cynops fudingensis'' is a small newt, usually less than in total length. The population from which the species was described lives in small, still-water puddles and ditches of a deserted agricultural field on a hillside near Taimushan (Mt. Taimu), west of Fuding City. Another nearby population may already be extinct. The species is not known from elsewhere, and the known population is threatened by

habitat destruction 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 ...

associated with tourism, introduced predators (such as

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullfro ...

s and red-eared slider turtles), and collection by herpetological hobbyists. Reproduction requires the presence of a larger group of newts. Eggs are laid in April and are wrapped singly in leaves of water plants. Includes photographs of the animals and their habitat.

References

External links

''Cynops fudingensis'' Wu, Wang, Jiang and Hanken, 2010
a
Salamanders of China LifeDesk
Cynops Endemic fauna of China Amphibians of China Amphibians described in 2010 {{Salamandridae-stub