Neurergus Strauchii Larvae

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

These little guys are so spoiled! They get special attention, they're one of my favorite species. I have 2 groups of larvae, keeping 1 group on the 1st floor of my house in my bed room. This group gets much more daylight and ofcourse its warmer. The ones downstairs in the basement are being kept in my newt room. Its much cooler and less daylight. The ones kept in my bedroom are showing signs of morphing and the ones downstairs seem to be a step behind the ones in my room. They are being fed blackworms and live brineshrimp. I feed both groups consistantly the same amount of food and the same amount of times. Its easy to see why I show favortism towards this species, here look for yourself!

 

[huug]

They look great!
Great that you can actually see their colors now.
Normally when color shows most species have smaller gills i think.
They look great with the yellow dotts and still the impressive size of the gills!
You are so lucky with these

How old are they now?

 

[John]

Very nice. As they stand right now they are paedomorphs.

 

[Jennewt]

Looking good, Jaymes!

Unlike most species, N. strauchii has a "disconnect" between metamorphosis and the loss of gills. The two processes are not linked. It's very common for them to complete metamorphosis (as judged by the color change and body shape) but retain the gills for weeks/months thereafter.

Personally, I don't think this qualifies as paedomorphosis. Paedomorphosis is the appearance of juvenile traits in adults. I don't think anyone has ever seen gills in adults of this species. These are just juveniles that have a variation in the sequence of events as they lose the juvenile traits.

 

[eljorgo]

Amazing, how did you get those in US?

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

Its no secret where I got mine from! I got mine from a well respected source that has been working with newts for a long time. Many people in the community praise her work.

 

[eljorgo]

Cool :wacko:. I see...
Sucess with those!:happy:

 

[xMIDNIGHTx]

Beautiful newts there Jaymes, I am envious! (As I bet many others are too ). Please keep the updates coming.

I am interested to see if there are more slight differences as development goes on with the difference in temperature (range?) and sunlight exposure. I assume the setups are extremely similar in both places.

Take care and good luck!

Mitch