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The southern banded newt (''Ommatotriton vittatus'') is a species of
The southern banded newt (''Ommatotriton vittatus'') 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 Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
(Lori Province
Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak ...
of northern Armenia), Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. This species has two subspecies - O. ''v. vittatus'' (found in Turkey, Syria, and Israel) and O. ''v. ciliensis'' (found in Turkey).
The southern banded newt is a medium-sized newt of 90–110 mm total body length. Females are often slightly smaller than males and have about half their weight but both males and females have a similar mean body condition index.
Habitat
The natural habitat of the species is water bodies of various types in temperate forests and grasslands, including rivers, ponds, and canals, and extending to water in caves, arable land and rural gardens. It has been found in water that has a temperature from 8.7 to 14.6 °C (average 11.4), a pH from 7.5 to 8, a GH (general hardness) from 3-18 (average 11.4), and a KH (carbonate hardness) from 3-18 (average 10.4). Generally they prefer higher altitudes (above 1500m) which have lower temperatures. When temperatures fall below 3.9 °C, they will go into hibernation and aestivating in dry, hot weather.Ecology
Their breeding season lasts from early spring to early summer (February to June). During this breeding season they inhabit shallow, slow flowing water with vegetation but otherwise inhabit wooded or areas of loose stones that are close to water. Also during this season, O. ''vittatus'' males develop large crests on their back and more vivid colors to attract the females along with using visual displays and movements with their tails and crests. The males are known to have aggressive and territorial behavior; they defend their territories by biting and chasing away other males and maintain a few tens of centimeters to 0.8 m of open space between their territories. Fertilization is internal but non-copulatory and the female will often accept multiple spermatophores (from different males).References
External links
* Ommatotriton Amphibians of the Middle East Amphibians of Turkey Amphibians described in 1835 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Salamandridae-stub