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Vietnamese Crocodile Salamander, Tylototriton vietnamensis Böhme, Schöttler, Truong & Köhler (2005)

Appearance

The Vietnamese Crocodile salamander is the latest addition to the genus Tylototriton. The animals were first believed to belong to the species T. asperrimus, but further investigation revealed that it concerned a new species.

Individuals have greyish or brownish colouration, except for the underside of the tail, the dorso-lateral warts and the toes which are yellow-orange. The rib nodules can also be slightly yellow-orange. Adult males can reach a length of approximately 12 cm, females will presumably grow slightly larger.  

Distribution and habitat

T. vietnamensis is known to occur at only 4 locations in Vietnam. The type locality is from Bac Giang Province, this species is also found at two localities in Cao Bang Province and one in Nghe An Province. Possibly the species also occurs in southern China and eastern Laos, but this has not yet been confirmed. In Lao Cai Province a Tylototriton species was found that is regarded as Tylototriton cf. vietnamensis. The available animals from this population showed a more warty and darker skin. This is most probably caused by seasonal variation and it's therefore likely that these populations also belong to T. vietnamensis.

This species is found in ponds located in forests with dense bamboo vegetation. The animals reproduce during the rainy season, the females leave the water prior to the males. Larvae can be found in the water till October.

T. vietnamensis was known to have quite some morphological similarities with the Hainan Crocodile Salamander. Recent studies have proved that these two species are highly related to each other on genetic level (Weisrock et al. 2006). This supports the assumption that a Tylototriton hainanensis-like population is distributed in the north of Vietnam.

Keeping and breeding

Little is known about keeping these animals in captivity. It seems that the animals do best when they are kept at higher temperatures (>25 °C) and in a semi-aquatic setup.

Status in captivity

This species has been kept in captivity for 3 years now, in very small numbers. No breeding has been reported yet, probably due to the lack of females.

Look here for photos of this species.

Böhme, W., T. Schöttler, N. Q. Truong & J. Köhler (2005): A new species of salamander, genus Tylototriton (Urodela: Salamandridae), from northern Vietnam. Salamandra 41(4): 215-220.

Weisrock, D. W., T. J. Papenfuss, J. R. Macey, S. N. Litvinchuk, R. Polymeni, I. H. Ugurtas, E. Zhao, H. Jowkar & A. Larson (2006):A molecular assessment of phylogenetic relationships and lineage accumulation rates within the family Salamandridae (Amphibia, Caudata). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 368–383.