The Corsican brook salamander or Corsican mountain newt (''Euproctus montanus'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

in the family Salamandridae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, an island in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The Corsican brook salamander is found primarily in rocky streams, springs, and rivers in

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

and maquis at altitudes of over 600 m.

Description

The Corsican brook salamander is smaller than other closely related species, such as the Sardinian brook salamander (''Euproctus platycephalus'') and can grow to around in length, though a more typical size is . The head is long with a rounded snout, and the tail is oval in cross section and as long as the rest of the animal. The parotoid glands on the side of the neck are distinct. The males have spurs on the hind legs and a backwards-pointing conical cloaca, whereas the females have a cloaca with a ventral opening. The skin is smooth when it is living in the water, but becomes more granular when living on land. The colour is brown or olive, sometimes with mottling of orange, red, or brown, particularly near the spine. It has a paler, fairly uniformly coloured underside, sometimes with white flecks, but is not spotted on the throat. The only other salamander on the island is the Corsican fire salamander (''Salamandra corsica'') which has distinctive black and yellow colouring.

Distribution and habitat

The Corsican brook salamander is

to the island of Corsica. It is not present in the eastern lowland areas or near much of the coast, but can be found at altitudes up to and is most common in the range . It is mainly aquatic, living in lakes, ponds, and the slower-moving parts of streams, often hiding under stones. When on land, it does not stray far from water and inhabits maquis and woods, where it can be found in the undergrowth or under fallen logs and rocks.

Biology

The Corsican brook salamander lives in well-oxygenated waters where it breathes through its skin. Its lungs are either not present or reduced to vestigial organs. Nevertheless, it can move about on land and hibernates underground during the winter. It enters a terrestrial phase after breeding and is mainly nocturnal, feeding on insects and small invertebrates. Near the coast, breeding may take place twice a year in spring and early autumn, but at greater altitudes, mating takes place in midsummer. The male grasps the female with his jaws and wraps his tail round her while using his cloaca to deposit one or two spermatophores in her

cloaca A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilagin ...

. She then lays about 30 large, yolky eggs, which are deposited in crevices and under stones, and she guards them until they hatch about 50 days later. The larvae (tadpoles) take about 9 months before they undergo

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

and develop into juveniles.

Status

The Corsican brook salamander is listed as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, because, although it has a very limited range, it is common in suitable habitats within that range and the population is not believed to be dwindling. Threats that might occur include pollution of the streams and lakes in which it lives, the introduction of trout which compete for food and may also prey on it, and the destruction of its habitat and consequent fragmentation of populations.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q590679 Newts Amphibians described in 1838 Endemic fauna of Corsica Amphibians of Europe Taxa named by Paolo Savi Taxonomy articles created by Polbot