Japanese fire-bellied newt

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese fire-bellied newt

Temporal range: 13.75–0 Ma 

PreꞒ

Pg

Middle Miocene – Present

Female Japanese fire-bellied newt

 Conservation status

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1) [1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Amphibia

Order: Urodela

Family: Salamandridae

Genus: Cynops

Species: C. pyrrhogaster

Binomial name

Cynops pyrrhogaster

(Boie, 1826)

Synonyms[2]

Molge pyrrhogaster Boie, 1826

The Japanese fire-bellied newt or Japanese fire-bellied salamander (Cynops
pyrrhogaster) is a species of newt endemic to Japan. The skin on its upper body is
dark and its lower regions bright red, although coloration varies with age, genetics,
and region. Adults are 8 to 15 cm (3.1 to 5.9 in) long. To deter predators, Japanese
fire-bellied newts contain high levels of tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin accumulated
mainly from their diet.
The species is found on many Japanese islands, including Honshu, Shikoku,
and Kyushu. Their habitats include both natural and artificial bodies of water, as well
as forests and grasslands. They breed from spring to the beginning of summer, both
sexes producing pheromones when ready to mate. Eggs are laid separately,
hatching after about three weeks. They grow from larval to juvenile form in between
five and six months. Juveniles eat soil-dwelling prey, and adults eat a wide variety of
insects, tadpoles, and the eggs of their own species. They have
several adaptations to avoid predators, although which they use depends on where
they live. Several aspects of their biology have been studied, including their ability to
regrow missing body parts.
The Japanese fire-bellied newt first diverged from its closest relative in the Middle
Miocene, before splitting into four distinct varieties, each with a mostly separate
range, although all four are formally recognized as composing a single species.
Currently, their population is declining, and they face threats from disease and
the pet trade. They can be successfully kept in captivity.

Etymology and taxonomy[edit]

The species was first scientifically described by German zoologist Heinrich Boie in
1826 as Molge pyrrhogaster,[note 1] based on specimens brought from Japan to Europe.
He compared it to the smooth newt, saying he would have mistaken the former for
the latter, had he not known it was from Japan. None of the specimens he studied
were fully mature.[3][4] Pyrrhogaster is derived from Greek, purrhos lit. 'fire'
and gastēr lit. 'belly'.[5] Salamandra subcristata was described by Coenraad Jacob
Temminck and Hermann Schlegel in 1838 and transferred to Cynops later that year
by Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi,[6][2] and in 1850, Cynops
subcristata and Molge pyrrhogaster were synomized as Cynops pyrrhogaster by the
British zoologist John Edward Gray.[7][2] A study of mitochondrial DNA in 2001
indicated that its supposed fellow members of Cynops, C. cyanurus and C.
wolterstorffi, may belong to a different genus.[8]
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists sixteen synonyms for Cynops
pyrrhogaster.[9] Common names of the species include Japanese fire-bellied newt,
[1]
 red-bellied newt,[10] and Japanese fire-bellied salamander. [11] Studies examining
morphological and geographic variation had formerly recognized six races: Tohoku,
Kanto, Atsumi, intermediate, Sasayama, and Hiroshima, [12] one of which, the
Sasayama, was described as a subspecies in 1969 by Robert Mertens as Triturus
pyrrhogaster sasayamae, which is now considered a synonym of C. pyrrhogaster.
[2]
 Modern molecular analysis supports the division of C. pyrrhogaster into
four clades instead.[12] In particular, the validity of the Sasayama and intermediate
races has never been proven, with one study finding no behavioral differences
between the two supposed forms.[13]
Illustration of various salamanders. Bottom right is C. pyrrhogaster.

Phylogenetic tree detail:[12]

Triturus species

Pachytriton species

Paramesotriton species

Chinese fire belly newt (C. orientalis)

Chuxiong fire-bellied newt (C. cyanurus)

Sword-tailed newt (C. ensicauda)

Japanese fire-bellied newt
Northern clade
(C. pyrrhogaster)
Central clade

Southern clade

Western clade

Cynops pyrrhogaster diverged from its close relative C. ensicauda about

13.75 million years ago (during the Middle Miocene). The common ancestor of the
two species would have lived in an area of the Eurasian mainland which is today
the East China Sea and the central Ryukyu Islands. The land that would become the
Japanese islands – connected to the mainland at that time – likely had a subtropical
climate, which may have caused the Japanese fire-bellied newt's ancestors to
migrate northward for desirable habitat. As time progressed, C. pyrrhogaster split
into four clades: northern, southern, western, and central. The northern diverged
first, at around 9.68 million years ago, then the central around 8.23 MYA (million
years ago), then finally the southern and western around 4.05 MYA. The ranges of
all but the southern clade declined during the Last Glacial Period, but expanded
again afterwards. The study that identified them concluded that the four clades
represent separate taxonomic units, although their exact relationship is unclear. It
also noted their extreme genetic differences, unusually large for any one species.
[12]
 The ranges of the central and western varieties meet in Chugoku in western Japan
to form a hybrid zone (an area where the two clades interbreed to produce hybrids).
The central type has begun to move west, which has caused the hybrid zone to shift.
It is expected to eventually cause the genome of the western form to be diluted by
increasing hybridization