''Salamandrella keyserlingii'', the Siberian salamander, 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 ...

found in

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia. Its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by Ame ...

. It lives in wet woods and

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

groves.

Distribution

It is found primarily in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

east of the Sosva River and the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, in the

East Siberian Mountains The East Siberian Mountains or East Siberian Highlands () are one of the largest mountain systems of the Russia, Russian Federation. They are located between the Central Yakutian Lowland and the Bering Strait in Northeast Siberia. The area of th ...

, including the

Verkhoyansk Range The Verkhoyansk Range (, ''Verhojanskiy Hrebet''; ) is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settlement of Verkhoyansk, well-known for its frigid climate. It is part of the East Siberian Mountains. The range lies just west o ...

, northeast to the

Anadyr Highlands The Anadyr Highlands () are a mountainous area in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Far Eastern Federal District, Russia. Geography The Anadyr Highlands are one of the two main mountain regions of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. They rise southwest of ...

, east to the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

and south into

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

, with outlying populations also in northern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, northeastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and on the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. It is believed to be extirpated from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. An isolated population exists on

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. A breeding ground of Siberian salamanders in

Paegam Paegam County is a ''kun'', or county, in Ryanggang province, North Korea. Geography The terrain is mountainous, as Paegam lies atop the Paektu Plateau, the site of North Korea's tallest mountains. The Hamgyŏng and Machŏllyŏng ranges pass ...

South Hamgyong South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, Hamgyong Province, remained a provin ...

, is designated

North Korean natural monument Natural monuments of North Korea is a natural monuments system that designates natural resources that are designated as significant to the North Korean government. A total of 469 natural monument entries have been designated from no.1 to no. 935 ...

#360.

Description

Adults are from 9.0 to 12.5 cm in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. Thin, dark brown stripes occur between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. Four clawless toes are on each foot. The tail is longer than the body. Males are typically smaller than females. The species is known for surviving deep freezes (as low as −45 °C). In some cases, they have been known to remain frozen in

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

for years, and upon thawing, walking off. They accomplish this by reducing to a fourth of their body weight through water loss and liver shrinkage, and by increasing the concentration of glycerol in their body.

Discovery

In 1870, Dybowski gave it the name of Salamandrella Keyserlingii. It was renamed in 1910, the 1910 scientific name hardly used. Boulenger gave it the new (but unused) name.

General Behavior

The Siberian salamander is fairly nocturnal, foraging above ground at night and staying under moist logs or woody debris during the day.

Habitat

Within its extensive range, the habitat of the Siberian newt is wet conifer, mixed deciduous forests in the taiga and riparian grooves in the tundra and forest steppe. They can be found near ephemeral or permanent pools, wetlands, sedge meadows, off near oxbow lakes.

Reproduction

Their breeding season occur during May or beginning of June, in pools of water.Hasumi, M., & Borkin, L. J. (2012). Age and body size of Salamandrella keyserlingii (Caudata: Hynobiidae): a difference in altitudes, latitudes, and temperatures. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 12(2), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-012-0091-5 A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a female typically laying up to 240 eggs in a season. The light-brown eggs hatch three to four weeks after being laid, releasing larval salamanders of 11–12 mm in length.

References

External links

*
Distribution map''Malyarchuk B.'', ''Derenko M.'' et al. Phylogeography and molecular adaptation of Siberian salamander Salamandrella keyserlingii based on mitochondrial DNA variation, 2010
{{Authority control keyserlingii Cryozoa Amphibians of China Amphibians of Japan Amphibians of Korea Amphibians of Mongolia Amphibians of Russia Amphibians described in 1870