''Salamandrella keyserlingii'', the Siberian salamander, is a species of
salamander found in
Northeast Asia. It lives in
wet woods and
riparian groves.
Distribution
It is found primarily in
Siberia east of the
Sosva River
The Sosva (russian: Сосьва) is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, a right tributary of the Tavda in the basin of the Ob. The length of the river is . The area of its drainage basin is .
Course
The Sosva is formed at the confluence of ...
and the
Urals, in the
East Siberian Mountains, including the
Verkhoyansk Range, northeast to the
Anadyr Highlands, east to the
Kamchatka Peninsula and south into
Manchuria, with outlying populations also in northern
Kazakhstan and
Mongolia, northeastern
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 ...
, and on the
Korean Peninsula. It is believed to be extirpated from
South Korea. An isolated population exists on
Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, Japan, in the
Kushiro Shitsugen National Park
is a national park located in the east of the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It was designated as a national park on 31 July 1987. The park is known for its wetlands ecosystems.
Kushiro-shitsugen (Kushiro Wetlands or Kushiro Swamp, Marshland) cov ...
. A breeding ground of Siberian salamanders in
Paegam
Paegam County is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, ''kun'', or county, in Ryanggang province, North Korea.
Geography
The terrain is mountainous, as Paegam lies atop the Paektu Plateau, the site of North Korea's tallest mountains. The Ham ...
,
South Hamgyong
South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kore ...
, is designated
North Korean natural monument
Natural monuments of North Korea is a natural monuments system that designates natural resources that are designated as significant to the North korean government. A total of 469 natural monument entries have been designated from no.1 to no. 935. ...
#360.
Description
Adults are from 9.0 to 12.5 cm in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. Thin, dark brown stripes occur between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. Four clawless toes are on each foot. The tail is longer than the body.
A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a female typically laying up to 240 eggs in a season. The light-brown eggs hatch three to four weeks after being laid, releasing larval salamanders of 11–12 mm in length.
The species is known for surviving deep freezes (as low as −45 °C). In some cases, they have been known to remain frozen in
permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
for years, and upon thawing, walking off.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Distribution map''Malyarchuk B.'', ''Derenko M.'' et al. Phylogeography and molecular adaptation of Siberian salamander Salamandrella keyserlingii based on mitochondrial DNA variation, 2010
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1549384
keyserlingii
Cryozoa
Amphibians of China
Amphibians of Japan
Amphibians of Korea
Amphibians of Mongolia
Amphibians of Russia
Amphibians described in 1870