Webbed Triton

The webbed triton ( Triturus helveticus Razoumovsky, 1789) is a Amphibien Urodèle, smallest of the European tritons. It frequently meets in Western Europe.

Description

The discrete coloring of the webbed triton often camouflages it very well at the bottom of the forest ponds filled of sheets, and on the forest Litière.

The male adult has a coloring green-olive or brown, a throat color flesh, mottled yellowish sides of black. Some longitudinal bands decorate the head, of which one which masks the eyes more or less, like a stringcourse. Its tail is marked of two lines of black spots surrounding an orange band. Its belly is orange clear, with some spots sometimes. The throat, generally not mottled, makes it possible to differentiate the triton webbed from the close species Triturus vulgaris . Two characteristics which make it possible to identify the species ( cf photo opposite): the end of the tail is often finished by a short filament of a few millimetres (what differentiates it from the males Triturus vulgaris ) and in delivered bridal, the fingers of the back legs are connected by a palmation (which gives the vernacular name to the species).

The female is a little taller than the male (nearly 9 cm for the female, against 7 or 8 cm maximum for the male), of rather dull pale coloring brown. It only is slightly mottled. Its belly generally orange pale and is slightly mottled. Like the male, its throat is not mottled.

For the females, a risk of confusion exists with the punctuated Triton ( T. vulgaris ). Their distinction is indeed more difficult than for the males, sometimes even very delicate. In a general way the body of the webbed triton female is of color green more or less dark olive rather plain with a small hardly marked orange line along the back, while the female punctuated is rather maroon with longitudinal nuances (less plain). The black reasons for the tail differ, those of the female webbed being like the male but in more unobtrusive. Finally the female webbed has an aspect less lengthened and more fatty that the female punctuated. The following characteristics, normally present, can make it possible to make the difference but requires the capture:

female of webbed triton : the milky, pink throat with pale orange does not have spots, like the medium of the belly, which is of yellow color clearly with pale orange. The cesspool is blanchâtre. One frequently observes a clear spot on the articulation of the posterior leg, whose lower face is often equipped with two bearings.
female of punctuated triton : the throat is generally mottled (sometimes very pale), just like the medium of the belly, coloured out of yellow-orange with orange sharp. In general there is no white spot on the articulation of the posterior leg, whose lower face is seldom equipped with not very visible clear bearings. The cesspool has a generally sunk coloring.

They can live ten years.

Nomenclature and systematic

The Triturus helveticus was described in 1789 by Gregor Kyrillowitsch, count de Rasumofsky, Russian Naturaliste ), starting from animals of the area of Lausanne, initially under the name of Lacerta helvetica .

Since 2004, a proposal for a reorganization of the Triturus place this species under the name Lissotriton helveticus , gathering the webbed triton with Triturus boscai , T. italicus , T. montandoni and T. vulgaris ) in the kind Lissotriton (Beautiful, 1839). No consensus not having appeared, the taxon Triturus helveticus remains most current and more employed.

Subspecies

H.T. helveticus is Germany North with the Spain of the North-East
H.T. punctillatus is in the area of the Sierra of Required, in Spain
H.T. alonsoi (also known under the name of H.T. will sequeirai ) is in the North-western corner of the Iberian peninsula.

Behavior

Food

They nourish Invertébré S, small Crustacé S, of Zooplancton, Daphnie S and also of Têtard S of Grenouille. They are also known to present tendencies Cannibale S. and of small insects

Reproduction

See also: Contenu=Plus of information in the article ''''' [[Triturus]] '''''

Like the other members of the kind Triturus , the webbed triton passes part of the year on the dry land, going in water only at the time of the reproduction. During this period the males develop the bridal characteristics of the species: dorsal peak and along the tail, which becomes more coloured, and palmations between the fingers of the legs back.

It spends the season of reproduction from February to June/July in water, period during which the male webbed triton starts the bridal parade characteristic of the tritons: it is placed in front of the female and agitates the tail along its body, in direction of the female. By these movements, it diffuses towards the female of the Phéromone S secreted by dorsal and cloacal glands, with an aim of alluring the female.

At the end of the bridal parade, the male deposits on the bottom a Spermatophore, capsule including/understanding the Spermatozoïde S, that the female will collect by its Cloaque. The Fécondation will be then internal. The female will lay 100 to 300 eggs which hatch in Larve S (one does not speak about " têtards" , this term being reserved for the Anoura) at the end of approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Strictly watery at the beginning, the larvae are provided initially with Branchie S external often quite visible. They will acquerront during their development of the Poumon S, making it possible to the adults to live on the dry land. 6 to 9 weeks are necessary to the larvae in order to achieve the metamorphosis.

In the coldest zones, the larvae often spend the winter in water, and metamorphose themselves then the following year. They sexually become mature the second year, but certain individuals keep sometimes larval characteristics (phenomenon of “Néoténie”).

Geographical distribution

It is a subatlantic European species, meets in Great Britain (absent from Ireland), and Western Europe, the north of the Germany in the north of the Spain while passing by the Bénélux and the France.

Predatory

Like its congeneric, the webbed triton is the prey many animals, that it is during its larval life (large dytic, Dytique bordered, larvae of dragonfly S, but also of the Poisson S like the Truite, the Perche and the épinoche) or in an adult state (diurnal raptors or night, Mammifère S like the badger, or fox, etc)

Natural habitat

In watery phase, the webbed triton is shown rather eclectic and can meet in the pond S, the Lac S, the Canaux, the Marais, in sectors of Forêt S, Pâturage or agricultural area, sometimes in the acid puddle pools in the Lande S of Bruyère S of medium mountains or in coastal area. Water of Frai is rather stagnant or slightly current. It shows a “sylvan” preference and attends more readily the places near wooded areas. With the difference of the Alpine Triton, it seems to avoid the places without watery vegetation.

It moves less than the Alpine triton, which makes it more vulnerable than this last to the fragmentation of the potential habitats where one can meet it.

Statute of conservation

It is a threatened Espèce, protected by law in all the countries where that occurs:

regarded as rare Species with Species in danger in the Netherlands, Belgium and with the Luxembourg
vulnerable Species in Germany
current species elsewhere.

The threat exists primarily because of:

destruction of the wetlands
increase in the Road transport

See too

External bonds

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