C. pyrrhogaster (yellow & white vent)

[TJ]

I recently came across some fascinating C.pyrrhogaster that hardly live up to the "firebelly newts" name. These C.p, of which there were a couple dozen adults, without exception had white & pale yellow vents, with no trace of red pigmentation.

All I know with any certainty is that they've been in captivity for at least several years. I don't know if they were caught in the wild with this kind of coloration, whether they were WC but raised for many years on a diet lacking in carotene, or whether they are CB, which I doubt.

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

close-up of tail vent:

 

[TJ]

dorsum:

 

[kaysie]

Well, they're pretty none-the-less. Freaks of any kind are always cool

 

[kwok]

Wow! That's neat! Tim, are those yours? If they are, you should breed them and see what happen! May be you can provide that it is genetic trait rather than lack of carotene from it unbalance diet.

 

[TJ]

No, Kwok, they're not mine. I sure wouldn't mind acquiring a pair someday though to try my luck at breeding them

 

[sergé]

They really look like raised with a lack of carotene. A population where no crustaceans (Daphnia?) occur? I think they are captive raised. I know in captivity it is not hard to get them so pale coloured...just like in other species, Triturus cristatus complex for instance.

 

[nesaraj]

Captive-bred firbelly newts tend to have yellow bellies like those in the pictures. If you need a journal article on it, I can dig it out for you.

 

[nesaraj]

Yes, that is the article I was referring to. I have sent a PDF copy of it to the e-mail you gave me.
Which part of Japan are you in? What is the name of the public aquarium that has the yellow-bellied specimens ? I have read of Cynops Pyrrhogaster being captive-bred for laboratory experiments in Japan, and not that they were wild-caught specimens. Cheers.

 

[TJ]

Hi Nesaraj. Where'd you read of C.p being captive-bred for labs? I can hardly imagine this. It doesn't seem practical...or even cost-effective, except for use in particular experiments. I could be wrong though...

Still, I have met some people who use them in experiments at university labs and they tell me that lab suppliers acquire them from the wild. The labs sometimes even buy directly from pet stores. Red Lists published by Japanese prefectures point out that overcollection by lab suppliers is among the biggest threats to the species.

I'll exercise some discretion and let you know the name of the aquarium by private mail.

I received the PDF copy. Thanks!

As for my location, I'm in Tokyo.

 

[nesaraj]

Heya Tim,
Thanks for the update. I read some journal articles that used captive-bred C. Pyro. for experiments. However, the papers were all from the same laboratory group so you are probably correct in your assertion that most experimenters use wild-caught ones. I will try to dig the articles out (being a research scientist myself, I have tons of journal articles to go through lol).
Someday I hope to visit laboratories that use them for research in Japan, as well as visit the natural habitats of Japanese amphibians in general (btw, I saw your pics of C. Pyro. habitats; they are very cool). My wife is Japanese, so this is a definite possibility in the future.
Cheers.