Pachytriton natural habitat

[mark]

I have come across a few sources that differ in the natrual habitat of Pachytriton. The only factor the two accounts had in common were cold clear water. However, those were the only similarities. One account went on to state that Pachys live in deep pools, while the other said they live in shallow fast moving streams. My guess is that animals in certain areas have changed to fit the habitat, some Pachys adapted to living in deeper pools, due to the lack of their natural fast moving streams anywhere close by. What are your thoughts on Pachys natural habitats? What are your experiences in keeping them if you have?

 

[thera]

what are your sources? I've been looking for some sources on pachys for my web site.

 

[mark]

it was a topic on Kingsnake a while ago, you could find it in the archives

 

[nimbus2]

I remember that thread on kingsnake...a guy posted something along the lines of "What is Pachytriton habitat like?" which seemed to be an earnest plea for information. A few days later, the same person posted again, stating he had actually been there and proceeded to describe the habitat as deep calm pools in a river. Seemed pretty odd to me that one day he knows nothing and the next he remembered everything. Personally Mark, I think you should take that particular post with a healthy dose of skepticism, given the circumstances. Robert Thorn, in his book "The Salamanders of Europe, Asia, and North Africa" describes the habitat as rocky creeks, streams, and small rivers. I'll make a serious effort to dig up some specific habitat info in some journals and let you know when/if I find something definitive.

 

[jens]

Hi all!

According to what I read about Pachys (i.e. in THIESMEIER's article in the German "Reptilia" journal in 2000), they live in fast streaming mountain- streems and rivers!

Greetings,
Jens

The Caudates- Website

 

[thera]

Hey nimbus2 & jens:

nim- is that book still in print?

jen- you know where I can find a copy of that article on-line at all ?? I don't have the resources to get it at the local university library.

 

[nimbus2]

yes, I think the book is still in print, but is in French.
You'll have to translate.

 

[jens]

Hi Thera,

no, I think there's no copy of it online. You could mail to Burkhard Thiesmeier, who's the author of the article and the chairman of the German Workgroup Urodela.

BTW, I obtained a pair of Pachytriton labiatus from Henk Wallays last fall (on the Urodela Workgroup's annular meeting) and I will try to breed them this year - fortunately, I was able to get numerous articles from THIESMEIER about how to breed them \o/ ... I will inform you when the first Pachys are hatched ;-)))!

Greetings,
Jens

The Caudates- Website

 

[chris]

Jens could you e-mail me some of the Theismer articles on breeding pachytriton. Also, i have two pachys. One is definately male - tail spots and cloacal tubercals. The other i am not sure. It has a raised cloaca, but not as large and is a slightly diferent shape to the male's. It is also much smaller, but they are cb in the same year.
Have you got any ideas as to what gender it is?