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Tylototriton kweichowensis autopsy (Warning, pictures can be shocking)

Jari B

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A few days ago one of my Tylototriton kweichowensis died, she was floating in the water and probably drowned. It is strange to believe that she drowned as the water isn't higher than 2 inches and there is moss all around the water area. I contacted a vet that also has salamanders and he is interested in the biology of these salamanders.

We decided to do an autopsy to see what was internally wrong and how a salamander looks from the inside. To my surprise the female had many growing eggs inside her oviduct. We couldn't find a clear reason why the animal drowned but it was very interesting to see.

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Neotenic_Jaymes

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The autopsy looks fun! Interesting that the eggs were developing. Honestly I've seen T. kweichowensis drowned in 1 inch of water in pet stores. Same for T. shanjing. I've had T. shanjing and T. verrucosus drown on me they were young juveniles. I know that drowning is always a possibility for Tylototriton.

The pics were awesome!
 

eljorgo

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thanks for sharing Jari. I preformed my self Autopsy to C. e. popei in the past and a friend of mine did on a L. laotriton female. Also many eggs were seen. Its a very elucidative thing to do when we got the opportunity. Who doesn't love dead bodies?!:D

(Forget last line :rofl:)
Cheers,
Jorge
 

Azhael

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Sorry for your loss!
I too would have done a dissection specially since the animal seems surprisingly healthy even in death. Pitty you couldn´t found any indication of what the problem might have been.
Thanx for sharing the pictures, some people may find them disgusting but i think they are educational and interesting.
 

Jari B

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A friend told me that it occurred in the past that kweichowensis died out of nowhere. They were mainly female he told me but he didn't know what caused the sudden death. After viewing the pictures he was surprised that there were eggs in this female and he thinks that his animals might have had eggs inside them to. He thinks that when the animals are unable to lay the eggs for some reason that they die. Does anyone have more knowledge about this?
 

SludgeMunkey

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Nothing like a necropsy to learn more!

I too have done a few on various specimens that died for unknown reasons. Most recently, I had an adult kaiseri pass on, probably due to age, as we were unable to find anything wrong visually, or via a battery of tests.

Most interestingly, I find the different lung configurations fascinating. In kaiseri, there is a "main" lung and what appears to be a very small, probably non functional, vestigial lung.
 

newtboyuk

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A friend told me that it occurred in the past that kweichowensis died out of nowhere. They were mainly female he told me but he didn't know what caused the sudden death. After viewing the pictures he was surprised that there were eggs in this female and he thinks that his animals might have had eggs inside them to. He thinks that when the animals are unable to lay the eggs for some reason that they die. Does anyone have more knowledge about this?

Developing follicles and eggs are a normal finding in females (some seasonal/individual variation). Problems can arise with retained follicles and eggs but there are generally obvious changes in the follicles and the ovary - to the best of my knowledge, this does not seem nearly as common in amphibians as it is in certain reptiles.

There are other much more likely causes of death in these animals - not of all which may be apparent on a gross post mortem (especially if you're not used to seeing normal organs). Histopathology (examination of fixed, stained samples of tissue under a microscope) combined with culture and sensitivity is the best way to get a diagnosis if nothing appears grossly abnormal. The main disadvantages are the costs involved and the fact that amphibian bodies decompose rapidly.

Mark
 

axokicker

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great pics always good to see how things work from all sides including inside, I'm sorry about your newt tho.
 

Otterwoman

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I tried to dissect one of my dead newts once but didn't get very far. I wonder if you would be up to taking some of those pictures and labeling the structures.
 

Jari B

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I tried to dissect one of my dead newts once but didn't get very far. I wonder if you would be up to taking some of those pictures and labeling the structures.


I will ask a friend if he can lable it with latin names so it is clear for everyone.

Thanks for the nice comments on the photo's.
 
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