The Persian brook salamander or Persian mountain salamander (''Paradactylodon persicus'') is an endemic amphibian species of

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 ten ...

in the family

Hynobiidae The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae), with which they form the suborder Cryptobranchoidea. ...

found in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

and possibly

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

.Papenfuss, T., Anderson, S., Kuzmin, S., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Nilson, G. & Sharifi, M. 2009. ''Iranodon persicus'' (errata version published in 2016). ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2009: e.T2665A86081638. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T2665A9465867.en. Accessed on 26 April 2022.

Description

Adults have 4 fingers and toes, are darkly colored with scattered yellow spots and have rectangular heads and rounded tails oftentimes longer than the rest of their body. Larvae have large rounded triangular heads with short fin-like tails roughly shorter than the rest of their body and are generally light yellow without any distinct spots. The juveniles complexion darkens and develops mottled yellow spots while their head become more rectangular, and their tails become longer and more rounded. Larvae and juveniles sizes are roughly the same ranging from 4-10 cm while the larger adults commonly range from 15-20 cm. The total length of the longest specimen was 26.85cm. Larvae have external gills that suit their solely aquatic habitats while adults replace these with lungs as they mature.Kami, Haji Gholi. "The biology of the Persian Mountain Salamander, Batrachuperus persicus (Amphibia, Caudata, Hynobidae) in Golestan Province, Iran." ''Asiatic Herpetological Research'' 10 (2004): 182-190.

Distribution & Habitat

The only known populations of this species inhabit the

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American P ...

region along the southwestern tip of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...

. This species is also believed to inhabit parts of

where the

that these

salamanders 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 te ...

are known to inhabit reaches north however no definitive sightings have been verified. The native range of these

is roughly 2,000 km², limited almost exclusively to the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

s, inland karsts, and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s of the area due to the aquatic nature of the species.

Behavior & Diet

The

and karst dwelling adults of this species are active at all times of the year while adults in other localities are found hiding in their burrows during the day and are thought to become more active at night. This species typically breeds in running water habitats rather than stagnant water habitats where these stream-type larvae frequent rocky areas of these fast-flowing streams so they have plenty of cover from predators. At all stages of life these

are

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other ...

and known to feed on

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, oft ...

and small creatures that share their habitat. Additionally, when dissecting

dwelling adult specimens researchers discovered ( Myotis blythyii) bat remains within the

stomach. This is one of the only known instances of a

species preying on the small winged

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fu ...

. These

are also known to be

cannibalistic Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

as adults and juveniles have been found with larvae of the same species in their stomachs.

Threats

This species occurs in the protected Hyrcanian forest region and has been most recently assessed by

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

in 2008 when it was conclusively listed as near threatened due to habitat loss. The specific threats that fall under habitat loss for this species are urban sprawl around the coast and foothills of the

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

(specifically rice cultivation in this area), logging (

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

in streams that the larvae rely upon), and

surface water Surface water is water located on top of land forming terrestrial (inland) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean. The vast majority of surface water is produced by pr ...

groundwater pollution Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwan ...

(because this species is so reliant upon aquatic habitats this threat is especially influential). It is also speculated that this species could be threatened by drought periods and collection for the pet trade. Because of increases in threats and a deteriorating climate this species is near qualifying as vulnerable. Overall little is known about thus reclusive and rare species of

. More field surveys are necessary to fathom the reality of this species natural range. Research on what the ecological requirements are for both the larvae and adults of this species is needed to facilitate conservation efforts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2382547, from2=Q28042641 Paradactylodon Amphibians of Iran Endemic fauna of Iran Amphibians described in 1970 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot