Onychodactylus japonicus - Japanese clawed salamander

            This not commonly encountered hynobid salamander lives near and in waterstreams in Japan. Until recently the Onychodactylus only held 2 species  : Onychodactylus fisheri and japonicus. 

Salamanders of the Hynobidae group all have external fertilisation. Streamtype salamanders have a somewhat different approach in evolution too : they lay fewer eggs (which are sometimes guarded by the adults) but larger eggs, which then develop larger larvae. The eggs are attached to the underside of stones and are more white colored then the eggs laid by pond breeding species. The white color may eventually be an adaptation to compensate for the lower light situation. When born, the larvae of streamtype salamanders have no balancers and in some ( most ?) species the fingers develop cornified claws in order to get a bitter grasp on the floor so they can move against the current if need be. Streamtype larvae are build like sportscars , quite streamlined : their gills are reduced since the cold water retains more oxygent then the warmer ponds, their dorsal fin is quite reduced and the overal body line is longer. Most streamtype salamanders actually have a larval phase longer then a year... sometimes up to 3 or 4 years. Pondtype salamanders mostly have a larval phase of a few months ; ponds tend to dry up sometimes and may contain larger amounts of food.

Taken on: January 6, 2010

Tags:

Onychodactylus

japonicus

clawed

salamander

urodela

caudata

amfibie

amphibian

herp

herps

herpetofauna

nature

wildlife

japan

stream

river

asia

asian

schwanzlurche

amphibia

lurche « less

Sets appears in: • Onychodactylus

Groups appears in: • Salamanders & Caecilians • The Nature Reservoir - Version 2.0 more » • Anfibios y Reptiles • "HERPTILES UNITED " « less

Camera: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
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