Asiatic Salamanders: Hynobiidae - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Behavior And Reproduction, Conservation Status, Hokkaido Salamander (hynobius Retardatus): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, DIET, ASIATIC SALAMANDERS AND PEOPLE
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Asiatic salamanders live only in Asia. Their range extends from Japan, Taiwan, and the mainland of China westward to Afghanistan, Iran, and Kazakhstan in central Asia. To the north, Asian salamanders live on the Kamchatka peninsula, the island of Sakhalin, and in Siberia and Mongolia westward beyond the Ural Mountains. Siberian salamanders are the only Asiatic salamanders that enter European Russia and are the only salamanders that live north of the Arctic Circle.
Asiatic salamanders, both larvae and adults, eat insects and other invertebrates (in-VER-teh-brehts), which are animals without backbones. Hokkaido salamanders and Longdong stream salamanders eat others of their own species.
Asiatic salamanders have no known importance to people.
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Asiatic salamanders are small to medium-sized salamanders. Most of these salamanders are 4 to 10 inches (10 and 25 centimeters) long, although some species grow to a length of 12 inches (30 centimeters). Most of these salamanders are dull sandy brown to dark olive, but a few species have colorful spots on their backs. There are two main groups of Asiatic salamanders. One group lays a large number …
Some Asiatic salamanders, such as clouded salamanders, live only in lowlands. Others live only in the mountains. Many live 6,600 to 13,000 feet (2,000 to 4,000 meters) above sea level. The record for highest home belongs to the Tibetan stream salamander, which lives in western China at a height of 14,000 feet, or about 2.5 miles (4,250 meters). Some Asiatic salamanders live in water all year. Thes…
Asiatic salamanders hunt for food at night. Scientists know little else about how these salamanders behave outside of breeding season. The breeding season varies from late winter to early summer. Some Asiatic salamanders breed in late winter and early spring. The eggs develop in ice-cold water mixed with ice and snow. Others breed in early summer. The breeding season may be as late as July for som…
Physical characteristics: Hokkaido salamanders are 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters) long. There are eleven or twelve grooves along the sides of the body, and the tail is long. The legs and toes are long compared with those of other Asiatic salamanders. The back is dark brown with a few blurry spots. Some Hokkaido salamanders keep the larval body form even though they grow to adult size. Geogra…
Physical characteristics: Japanese clawed salamanders are 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters) long. The body is thin, and the tail is long. The back is brown with orange spots. There also are orange spots on the back of the head and on the legs. Orange stripes run along the center of the back. The larvae have clawlike structures on their toes. Adults have these "claws" only during t…
Physical characteristics: Semirechensk salamanders are 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) long. The tail is as long as the rest of the body and has a ridge along the top. The body is brown with scattered black spots. Adult Semirechensk salamanders have small lungs. Geographic range: Semirechensk salamanders live in the Ala Tau mountains and the Tien Shan mountains of eastern Kazakhstan and west…
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