BREEDING HABITS OF AMPHIBIA U5 



TBITUHJS FYKRHOGASTER . the Japanese fire-salamander. This form is very comnon in Japan 

 and is characterized hy a black warty skin and a hright red belly, with scattered black 

 spots. The size is generally about 6 inches, the males being a bit smaller and having 

 large vents and pointed tails. May be fed strips of fresh liver which they will ingest 

 from the water without prompting. 



Since these forma are imported, they are used in the laboratory and may be caused to 

 ovulate by the injection of frog pituitary glands or extracts of mammalian pituitaries. 

 Generally the best procedure is to inject two female frog pituitaries on alternate dpys 

 for three injections, then place the female in water with Elodea on which she can lay the 

 eggs. Females in colonies may have apermatophores, but if this is not the case the malea 

 can be induced to drop spermatophores by pituitary treatment. The eggs are generally 

 layed after the third injection and a good female will give as many as 80 egga. The fe- 

 males seem to retain their spermatophorea for a long period and the eggs are inseminated 

 as they are layed. 



TBITUHJS YIBIDESCENS. the common newt, formerly known aa Dlemcytylus vlridescena. These 

 ainall vermilllon spotted newts are found throughout the United States and aouthern Canada, 

 particularly in the East. It lacke the series of vertical grooves on the side of the 

 body, characteristic of salamajiders. The back and sides are olive and the belly la light 

 yellow with moat of the bright vermilllon spots on the sides and belly. The male possesses 

 a row of pits, the hedonlc glands, on the aide of the head and can also be diatinguiahed 

 by Ita protruding cloaca. These forms may be fed strips of liver, or small earthworms, 

 but the food must be moving to be attractive- 

 Breeding occurs in April and May, following an elaborate courtship which is termlnatedr 

 when the female picks up the spermatophores dropped by the male. The egga are layed In 

 sluggish water and are attached singly to stems, leaves, and other submerged objects. 

 Spermatogenesis can be encouraged in the laboratory with temperatures of 55°F. or higher 

 and sperm discharge is achieved by temperatures above 75°F. , even in the winter time. From 

 egg-laying to hatching is about 20-55 days, the larval period lasting about 80 days when 

 the larva transforms into a bright orange, and terrestrial "red-eft". This stage cannot 

 live in the water and possesses a skin which is highly repellent to water. Transformation 

 into an aquatic form occurs after several (2 to h) seasons and breeding then begins. In 

 water. This form responds readily to anterior pituitary induced ovulation in the labora- 

 tory at almost any time of the (academic) year. 



REFERENCES : 



Adams, A. E., igl+O - "Sexual conditions in Triturua vlridescena. II. The reproductive 

 cycle of adult aquatic forms of both sexes." Am. Jour. Anat. 66:255- 



Applington, H. W. , 19i4-2 - "Correlative cyclical changes in the hypophysla and gonads of 

 Necturua maculosus." Am. Jour. Anat. 70. 



Aronson, L. R., l^kk - "The mating pattern of Bufo americanus, Bufo fowleri, and Bufo 

 terrestris." Am. Mus. Nov. #1250. 



Aronson, L. R. & G- K- Noble, l^k"^ - "The sexual behavior of Anura- 2. Neural mechanisms 

 controlling mating in the male leopard frog, Sana pipiens." Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. 

 Hist. 86:89. 



Bellerby, C- W- 8c L- HDgben, I958 - "Experimental studies on sexual cycle of the South 

 African clawed toad ( Xenopus laevis)-" Jour- Exp- Biol. 15:91* 



Berk, L., I958 - "Studies in the reproduction of Xenopus laevis. 1. The relation of ex- 

 ternal environmental factors to the sexual cycle." S. Afr. Jour. Med. Sol. 5=72. 



Bishop, S. C, 1925 - "The life history of the red salamander, Pseudotrlton." Nat. Hist. 



25:585- 

 Bishop, S. C- & C- Crisp, I955 - "The nests and young of the Allegheny salamander Des- 



mognathua fuacus-" Copeia- 1955, P- 19^+- 

 Blair, A. P., 191+2 - "Isolating mechanisms in a complex of four species of toads." Biol. 



Symp. 6:255- 

 Blanchard, F- N-, I925 - "The life history of the four- toed salamander-" Am- Nat- 57:262- 

 Bles, E. J., 1905 - "The life history of Xenopus laevis," Tr. Roy. Soc. Edin. 1+1:789. 

 Bragg, A. N , 1957 - "Observations on Bufo cognatus with special reference to breeding 



habits and eggs." Am- Midland Nat. 18:275- 



