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Lyciasalamandra antalyana (Antalya Salamander / Antalya Semenderi)

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Lyciasalamandra antalyana (Antalya Salamander / Antalya Semenderi)


Lyciasalamandra antalyana (Antalya Salamander / Antalya Semenderi) [Semiadult Female / Yerıergin Dişi] from ANTALYA (W) - 25.02.2011.

This terrestrial tailed-amphibian (urodelan) is restricted to the area located in the NW and W of Antalya, including Termessos National Park., Turkey. Its total length reaches up to 13.4 cm. It is associated with rocky limestone outcrops, and is often found in pine woodlands.

The ground colour of the dorsum shows a wide variation: The dominant colour of the dorsal body and the median part of the dorsal head is dark brown covered with different coloured (whitish or yellowish) spots and blackish speckle-like marks which (the later ones) are generally arranged in two irregular rows on the vertebral line of dorsum. In some contrast to this, the ground colour of the upper side of the trunk, including the flanks, is usually light yellow. By such a diverse ground colour, Antalya Salamander differs from all other Turkish terrestrial salamanders by having almost always bright yellowish eyelids and parotid regions that the later ones are covered with small black dots. Limbs and tail are reddish-brown to orange with somedark shades. There are also black spots on the tail. Bellyis uniform yellowish.

Althought some authors have stated that the animals fromthe northern populations (the north parts of the Termessos National Park) are characterized by a particularly high amount of yellow on top of the head and the dorsum, I also observed such animals from the southern parts of the distribution area.

Like all Lyciaslamandra species it is also viviparous, with two fully developed offspring being born after 5 to 8 months.

References:1. Göçmen, B.(Unpub. results). The results of herpetological trips.  2. Başoğlu, M. & Baran, I, (1976). The subspecific ststus of the population of Mertensiella luschani (Steindachner) in the Antalya Region of Southwestern Anatolia. Ege Üniv. Fen Fak. İlmi Rap. Ser. 235: 1-13. 3.Veith, M., Baran, I., Godmann, O., Kiefer, A., Öz, M. & Tunç, M. R. (2001). A revision of population designation and geographic distribution of the Lycian salamander Mertensiella luschani (Steindachner, 1891). Zool. İn the Mid. East, 22: 67-82. 4.Veith, M. & Steinfartz, S. (2004). When non-monophyly results in taxonomic consequences – the case Mertensiella within the Salamandridae (Amphibia: Urodela). Salamandra, 40 (1): 67-80. 5. Veith, M., Lipscher, E., Öz, M., Kiefer, A., Baran, I., Polymeni, M. R. & Steinfartz, S. (2008).Cracking the nut: Geographical adjacency of sister taxa supports vicariance in a polytomic salamander clade in the absence of node support. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 47 (2008) 916–931. 6. Budak, A. & Göçmen, B. (2005). Herpetology. Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Kitaplar Serisi, No. 194, Ege Üniversitesi Basimevi, Bornova-Izmir, 226 pp. [2nd Edition, 2008]. 7. Franzen, M., Bußmann, M., Kordges, T. & Thiesmeier, B. (2008). Die Amphibien und Reptilien der Südwest-Turkei. Supplement der Zeitschrift für Feldherpetologie 14, Laurenti Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 328 pp.

Author Bayram GÖÇMEN
Created on Friday 25 February 2011
Posted on Sunday 06 March 2011
Tags Antalya, TURKEY / TÜRKİYE
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