Tiger Salamanders E-Book

Jens Benthien

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 68

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Jens Benthien introduces the interested beginner to the world of keeping and breeding Tiger Salamanders in the terrarium, but also provides some useful pointers and suggestions for the more advanced terrarium keeper. While Tiger Salamanders are well suited to the beginner in keeping amphibians, it is also of interest to the more advanced enthusiast, in particular because it poses some challenges with regard to propagating it. Following an overview of the genus, the distribution, and the ecology of Tiger Salamanders in the wild, the book with its appr. 80 color photographs details how to house these animals according to their biological needs, how to properly feed and care for them, and what is required to propagate the representatives of the North American Tiger Salamanders of the genus Ambystoma. Their ability to optionally remain and become sexually mature at their larval stage (neoteny), the problem of hybridizing, and the possible emergence of color anomalies are briefly discussed as well.

Leseprobe

Tiger Salamanders

Biology, Husbandry and Breeding

Jens Benthien

Copyright: © 2016 Jens Benthien

Editing: Erik Kinting / www.buchlektorat.net

Cover & layout: Erik Kinting

Photos: © Jens Benthien

Translation: www.herprint.com

Published by: tredition GmbH, Hamburg, Germany

This publication, including all its parts, is copyrighted. Its exploitation is prohibited without prior written authorization by the publishers and the author. This applies in particular to its multiplication by electronic or other means, translation, distribution, and making it available to the public.

Bibliographic information of the German National Library:

The German National Library („Deutsche Nationalbibliothek“) has recorded this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data can be obtained online from http://dnb.d-nb.de.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Taxonomy

Taxonomy and taxonomic status

Systematics (RAFFAËLLI 2013)

Distribution

The problem of identification

Consequences of the nationwide displacement of larval Tiger Salamanders

Ethological differences

Natural habitat

Life in the wild

Reproduction in nature

Cannibalism

Morphology

Appearance

The skin

Life expectancy

Husbandry and propagation in human care

Acquisitio

Quarantine

Housing

Setting up a terrarium

Access to water

Feeding

Suitable foods

Feeding and feeding behavior

Health issues

Hibernation

Overwintering outdoors

Overwintering in a basement shaft

Overwintering in a refrigerator

Propagation and raising juveniles

Matching breeder specimens

Conditioning

Mating

Oviposition

Housing the larvae

Larval development

Sensory performance of larval Tiger Salamanders

Metamorphosis

Neoteny

Color mutations

Hybridizing

Other species of the genus Ambystoma

Acknowledgment

References

Glossary

INTRODUCTION

This book is dedicated to the captive care and propagation of North American Tiger Salamanders. It is intended to raise the interest in these impressive and long-lived animals on the one, and surely contains the one or other useful pointer or idea for those terrarium keepers who have already gained insights into the keeping of Tiger Salamanders on the other hand.

Tiger Salamanders are well suited to the beginner in keeping amphibians if he or she will adhere to certain fundamental husbandry directives. Irrespective of this, the representatives of this species complex are attractive to the more experienced keeper of amphibians as well, since propagating them in captivity is not without a few challenges.

Tiger Salamanders have been known as terrarium animals since the beginning of the last century. In the past, they used to be collected in large numbers and on a commercial scale from the wild, which made them low-priced animals that were readily available in the pet trade almost all the time. This situation did certainly not promote the interest in these species in general and even less encouraged attempts to propagate them in earnest in particular. Such “consumption” of large numbers of wild-caught animals resulting from a lack of knowledge of their biological needs and disinterest in producing them in captivity was, and is, not acceptable, however.

Following a brief foray into the systematics, distribution and ecology of these salamanders in nature, the focus of this book is on describing in detail how to house, feed and propagate them in human care. Moreover, a few lines of his book are each dedicated to discussing the ability of these animals to become sexually mature while remaining at larval stage (neoteny), the problem of hybridizing, and the possible appearance of color mutations.

A male of the Eastern Tiger Salamander (A. tigrinum) on his way to a spawning pond after hibernation

TAXONOMIC STATUS

The taxonomic history of Mole Salamanders is one of continuous changes that have been continuing right to the present. In the past, the North American Tiger Salamander was classified as a species with six subspecies, and it was only when variation in the mitochondrial DNA (SHAFFER & MCKNIGHT 1996) and morphological differences (IRSCHICK & SHAFFER 1997) were discovered that the eastern form, Ambystoma tigrinum (GREEN, 1825), was granted the rank of a species in its own right in the more recent past.

In accordance with their geographical distribution, three genetic evolutionary lines could be identified in Ambystoma tigrinum: a northeastern group (in the northeast of the Great Plains), a southeastern group in the central parts of the United States, and a West Florida group.

The remaining five subspecies were reallocated to the Western Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium BAIRD, 1850, whereas the Californian Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma californiense GRAY, 1853, and the Mexican Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma velasci DUGÈS, 1888, were each recognized as separate species.

Left: A. tigrinum from Florida, center: A. tigrinum from Georgia,right: A. tigrinum from Illinois - all are adults

SYSTEMATICS (RAFFAËLLI 2013)

Class:

Amphibia

Subclass:

Lissamphibia

Order:

Tailed amphibians – Caudata

Superfamily:

Salamanders – Salamandroidea

Family:

Mole Salamanders - Ambystomatidae

Genus:

True Mole Salamanders – Ambystoma

Species:

Ambystoma tigrinumAmbystoma californienseAmbystoma velasciAmbystoma mavortium

Subspecies:

Ambystoma mavortium mavortiumAmbystoma mavortium stebbinsiAmbystoma mavortium utahenseAmbystoma mavortium diaboliAmbystoma mavortium melanostictumAmbystoma mavirtium nebulosum

DISTRIBUTION

The distribution range of Tiger Salamanders extends from southern Canada through wide parts of the US from the east to the west coast and south to central Mexico. With its various subspecies, Ambystoma mavortium inhabits the largest portion of this area. A precondition for their occurrence is access to suitable breeding waters, for which reason their range is patchy in places. Tiger Salamanders are believed to be absent from the Rocky Mountains, New England, and the Appalachians.

Eastern Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum GREEN, 1825

Ambystoma tigrinum – adult male

The Eastern Tiger Salamander sports a yellowish to olive spotted dorsal pattern on a brown to black ground color. The sizes of these spots vary significantly with the origins of specimens. Those from the southern parts of the range furthermore appear to grow to smaller adult sizes than their cousins in the north. The range of this taxon extends from New York state south down the east coast to Florida and west as far as Nebraska, Kansas and eastern Texas.

Barred Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium mavortium BAIRD, 1850

The Barred Tiger Salamander is marked by a vertical, beige to yellow barred dorsal pattern on a dark brown to black background, with the “barring” varying with the individual population. Its distribution range stretches from Nebraska to the southern parts of Texas and west to central Colorado and New Mexico.

Ambystoma mavortium mavortium – adult female

Arizona Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum HALLOWELL, 1853