Lanza's alpine salamander or the large alpine salamander (''Salamandra lanzai'') 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 ...

, found in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. 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 ...

s are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, and

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

lands, all of which are temperate. 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 ...

and potentially in the future by the fungal disease ''

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans'' (''Bsal'') is a pathogenic chytrid fungus that infects amphibian species. Although salamanders and newts seem to be the most susceptible, some anuran species are also affected. ''Bsal'' has emerged recent ...

''.

History

It was described by Nascetti, Andreone, Capula and Bullini in 1988. The generic name is from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

which translates as "salamander", and the specific name is for

Benedetto Lanza Benedetto Lanza (May 24, 1924, Florence – March 10, 2016, Florence) was an Italian herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the stud ...

, an Italian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Description

The species has a flat head and measures between in length. Its tail's tip is either rounded or pointed, with or without paravertebral glands. Due to its black colour, it is similar to the other

alpine salamander The alpine salamander (''Salamandra atra'') is a black salamander that can be found in the French Alps, and through the mountainous range in Europe. It is a member of the genus ''salamandra''. Their species name, ''atra'', may be derived from the ...

(''Salamandra atra'').

Distribution

The species can be found in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...

near

Monviso Monte Viso or Monviso (; oc, Vísol; Piedmontese: ''Brich Monviso'' or ''Viso'') is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps. It is located in Italy close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape and, because it i ...

, and in Guil Valley of southeastern France. It can also be found in northwestern Italy, the

Germanasca The Germanasca (also in Piedmontese ''Germanasca'') is a Italian torrent, which runs through the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is a tributary of the Chisone, into which it flows near Perosa Argentina. The valley formed by the river is known as ...

Pellice The Pellice (in Piedmontese ''Pélis'') is a Italian torrent, which runs through the Metropolitan City of Turin. The stream is a tributary of the Po River, into which it flows near Villafranca Piemonte. Geography The stream is formed at the weste ...

Valleys, and the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

. It is doubtful in

Chisone The Chisone (in Piedmontese ''Chison'' or ''Cleson'') is a Italian torrent, which runs through Pragelato, Fenestrelle, Perosa Argentina and Pinerolo in the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is a tributary of the Pellice, which in turn is a tributary ...

Valley. An old sample of the species in Museo La Specola in Florence suggests it is also found in the

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...

Ecology

They feed on various

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and various species of

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

Habitat

They are found at elevations of , with the maximum altitude of . In France, the species can be found at , while in Italy it is found at in altitude. A subalpine prairie is considered to be home for them. It also lives in fresh humid

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

s and

s and on the edges of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

ous

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

Mating and reproduction

They start mating on land, from May to October. During that time, they become nocturnal, but during heavy rains, they may become diurnal. Mating happens on land mostly in May, but it depends on the climate of any given year. They give birth from two to six young, which are born completely formed, after their mating act is successfully fulfilled, which is as long as three to four years.

Toxicology

They are toxic species. When under threat, they release a liquid

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...

through the small openings on their bodies. The liquid is strong and may cause

irritation Irritation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage. A stimulus or agent which induces the state of irritation is an irritant. Irritants are typically thought of as chemical age ...

if in contact with the eyes. They warn predators by raising their bodies and dipping their heads downwards when threatened.

Predators

Various

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s and

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

s are a threat to Lanza's alpine salamander.

Conservation

This species is common within its very limited range, but due to its small distribution, it was previously classified as vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. However, in 2022 it was precautionarily listed as critically endangered by the IUCN due to potential threats from the fungal disease ''

'', which has been recorded in nearby regions of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. If the fungus is allowed to spread naturally, it may be at risk of extinction within the next 40 years, and possibly sooner if humans introduce the disease nearby.

References

External links

*
''Lanza's alpine salamander''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1452325 Salamandra Amphibians described in 1988 Amphibians of Europe Taxonomy articles created by Polbot