Tylototriton asperrimus wenxianesis (Black Knobby Newt)

[TJ]

Found this critter at a pet shop today, looking the worse for wear after a long journey to Japan from China:

And no, I didn't buy it

 

[john]

Perhaps you should have? At least it would have had a good home... Looks vaguely like a cross between T. verrucosus and T. taliangensis to me.

 

[paris]

tim,
when you see these at the pet stores-how do you know subspecies? do they keep collection local data ?-or are you going by features?

 

[shawn]

that almost looks identical to the one i picked up that was malnurished from the petstore only mine has the red and black markings on its belly similar to the jfb newt
Wolfie

 

[TJ]

Hi Paris. Well, I've misidentified newts seen at shops before and for all I know, I've misidentified this one, but I'm only going by the Japanese name it was sold as. I looked up the English name at this site, where you can see a few more pics of what seems to be the same species or subspecies:

http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand/3108/herpetarium/captivity/capt-Ty-asperrimus.html

John, I'd really like to be able to pick it up and nourish it back to health, but I can't really afford it now and I hear they'll only eat worms, not crickets -- and I kinda doubt it'd eat anything at all, though this one was much better of than the rest, which were half-dead or dead. And I'm really trying to scale down my collection, so much so that I've given away my T.v juvies and only have one left (and I'm waiting for a good home for it as we speak!).

Shawn, correct me if I'm wrong but you probably had a Paramesotriton rather than a Tylototriton. What was it sold as?

 

[jesse]

hey my doors are always open to additions to my collection. Since i moved my sals from my old room tot he basement i found that i have lots of room now. So i can take all the tanks that i had stored in the garage and use them. Id be happy to give youre little fella a home tim

 

[paris]

except there is a little glitch jessie-tim lives in japan. believe me if he was in the states i'd be on his doorstep -he is from denver-60 miles north of me. getting them into the county is a big issue.

 

[TJ]

Nah, I'm not seeking a home

for a shop newt that would cost around $100 to buy and probably as much or more for postage and misc. fees, not to mention all the paperwork and red tape that would be involved in doing so legally. And I'm sure sending this worn out critter on a long journey to the U.S. after all it's been through to get to Japan wouldn't do it much good either. The way these animals are treated from time of capture to time of delivery to retail shops is just appalling.

As for my comment that it'd probably only eat worms, I guess I should explain: I'm kind of fond of earthworms so you won't find me cutting live ones up for newts. Having said that, I have no problem with dishing out frozen bloodworm by the pound

As for the subspecies name, I probably shouldn't have added that because it's really not all that clear.

 

[jesse]

yeah i kind of picked up on the japan thing when i read youre profile, sorry!

 

[philipp]

yes.there was a shipment in germany too.cut-off toes, dehydrated, uncorrectable kidney-distruction,
large growing wounds, broken bones, grey eyes,...
Seems to be´, that they were caught with nets, put in potatoe-bags and .....
the problem is, that they were left for two days without water on a chinese airport,...
My first impression was, that they might be closer to T.taliangensis, belonging to the asperrimus-komplex.
Hopefully, they aren´t imported that soon again.
And i know what i´m typing.
Pet Trade will become an uncontrollable danger for such spectacular species, cause the numbers will rise.
Greets,
Philipp