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Guizhou Crocodile Salamander, Tylototriton kweichowensis Fang & Chang (1932)

Appearance

The Guizhou Crocodile salamander is one of the most beautiful species within the genus Tylototriton. Their skin is black, except for the paratoïds, the tail, the dorso-lateral warts, the toes and parts of the underside which are red to orange. They can reach a size up to 200 mm.
Sexing proves difficult sometimes, but is not impossible. When opening the cloaca gently, you can see a slit for males, and a little hole for females. In the breeding season, the cloaca of the male is more pronounced and flattened. The females are all year round usually larger and fatter than the males.

Distribution and habitat

T. kweichowensis is distributed in the southern provinces of China Yunnan en Guizhou (Kweichow). In Yunnan it´s only found in the north-east, in Guizhou in the west (Dading en Weining countys). The type locality is is described as: "Kung-chi-shan, Dah-ting-hsien (Dading County,) West Kweichow (Guizhou, China); at about 2000m altitude" (Liu 1950).

Little is known about the habitat of T. kweichowensis in the wild. The animals probably live in forest at altitudes between 1730 and 2000m (Zhao et al. 1988). Reproduction requires standing water. In the Caohai National Nature Reserve in the west of Guizhou, this species is said to be very rare.

Keeping and breeding

These animals should be kept in an aquaterrarium with half land half water. The temperatures during the winter can be as low as 5° C (41°F), though we recommend to keep the temperatures above about 10° C (50°) which is enough to stimulate breeding. During the summer the temperature should not exceed 25° C (77°F).

After internal fertilisation, the female will lay up to 200 eggs in the water and on moist places above the water (Fleck 1992). The larvae can be put into spacious aquaria for rearing. The metamorphosed juveniles seem to thrive best in a large natural setup where they can choose the humidity and food they want.

Status in captivity

The Guizhou Crocodile salamander is quite rare in captivity, a large percentage of the imported animals from 2004 died of a virus infection. This species isn't as rare in captivity as T. taliangensis and is bred regularly in captivity, though juveniles are quite difficult to raise. For the studbook of Tylototriton kweichowensis visit www.studbooks.org.

Look here for photos of this species.

Fleck, J., 1992. Haltung und Nachzucht von Tylototriton kweichowensis Fang & Chang 1932. Salamandra 28(2): 97-105.

Liu, 1950. Amphibians of western China. Fieldiana Zoology Memoirs, Volume 2: 102-106.

Zhao, E., Q. Hu, Y. Jiang & Y. Yang, 1988. Studies on Chinese salamanders. Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles: 12-15.