T. verrucosus or T. shanjing?

Does anyone know if there is a main physical difference between T. shanjing and T. verrucosus?
I recently acquired two individuals sold to me as T. shanjing, but they look a little bit different. They have smoother skin and seem much more delicate.
Could they actually be T. verrucosus? Or maybe they're young T. shanjing?

Post pictures

T.shanjing and T.verrucosus look very similar...there was a recent announcement that T.shanjing was no longer a valid species i think.
The only possible difference i can think off, would be size, since verrucosus can get a lot bigger(but even between verrucosus there are different varieties).
Skin should look the same, so there´s a chance that the smooth skin and delicate apperance could mean they are very ill. Try to post a picture, that helps a lot.

azhael said:

T.shanjing and T.verrucosus look very similar...there was a recent announcement that T.shanjing was no longer a valid species i think.

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The world isn't rushing to adopt that. I think AmphibiaWeb echoes the majority opinion.

Neither am i John, but i thought i´d mention it to show that they do look alike.

The verrucosus tend to be more or totally aquatic with (i think) different shaped heads the verrucosus being wider.

Their are a lot more T. shanjing in the hobby than T. verrocusus. The colors are usually brighter with adult shanjing than verrocusus. If it likes to swim a lot it's a verrocusus and not a shanjing. Of course these are just generalizations.

I know the new Tylototriton are not in good health. It was a deal I made sight unseen, but once I saw them, I felt bad and just couldn't give them back. The person who sold them to me mixed them with green tree frogs for a week. That's what worries me the most.

I started them on land and they didn't look like they liked it. I moved them into a more aquatic tank, but they didn't totally take to the water, either. I've now put them in a quarantine-style half and half set-up. They will take a little piece of food from me once a day if I'm lucky. Half a waxworm or a little tiny piece of an earthworm is all they will go for.

The Tylototriton I got last year, on the other hand, are doing great! Both of them come running when they see me. They too were in rough shape when I got them, but not as bad as these new guys. The new ones are rib-skinny and their skin is absolutely smooth, without any knobs or bumps that I would expect to see in T. shanjing. Overall, they are very pale in appearance and they have very little energy.

HAPPY EMPERORS FROM LAST YEAR



NOT HAPPY EMPEROR FROM LAST WEEK #1



NOT HAPPY EMPEROR FROM LAST WEEK #2


Any suggestions on what I can do to help these guys recover would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

They look awful :S Poor things...
I think the excess humidity(the paper towels are soaking wet) might not help them. The smooth skin is a clear sign that the animals are ill, and probably in too bad a condition to be able to recover, but if they eat, it´s a good start.
Do you hand feed them? If so, it probably stresses them right now, i would try leaving pieces of earthworm in the tank so that they can eat them when undisturbed. A rather obscure environment might help them reduce stress too.
Good luck with them....i really hope someone who has succeeded dealing with this situations can lend you a hand.
It´s so sad to see the effects of pet-trade on the imports.....

I know they look bad. It's breaking my heart.

Should I not use the paper towel in there? Their house is on a slant and the other end has 2 cm of water. Should I just have a bare floor instead so it can dry out? Do you think they need more hiding places? Is that what "obscure environment" means?

I have feed them by hand, because I wasn't sure they had the energy to go and look for their food. I did also leave some worm pieces in there for later, but they didn't touch it.

The whole reason I got these two was to eventually introduce them to my other pair and start a breeding project to lessen the impact on the wild population. I'm doing something "bad" in attempts to make things better, but I'm just feeling like a horrible person right now instead.