''Pleurodeles poireti'', the Edough ribbed newt or Poiret's newt, is a 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 t ...
in the family
Salamandridae
Salamandridae is a Family (biology), family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough ski ...
. It is found only in the
Edough Massif
The Edough Massif, Edough Mountains or Djebel Edough (; ) is a mountain range of the Maghreb area in Northern Africa.
Geography
These mountains are a segment of the Tell Atlas alpine chain of eastern Algeria that is part of the wider Atlas Mou ...
, in the north east of
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
.
The natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s are of these newts are
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s, intermittent rivers,
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, freshwater
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es, intermittent freshwater marshes, cisterns and
pond
A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...
s. They are threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
.
The true ''P. poireti'' newts are restricted to the Edough Massif area, in
Numidia
Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...
. Formerly, this species was confused with the
Algerian ribbed newt ''Pleurodeles nebulosus'', which has a much wider distribution.
References
External links
Algerian Newt at www.amphibiaweb.orgLink to photo
Newts
Amphibians of North Africa
Endemic fauna of Algeria
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Amphibians described in 1836
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