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Ichthyosaura / Triturus / Mesotriton alpestris
It is a newt of the salamander order Caudata. During the mating season early in the year, the males exhibit dark-blue colouring on their backs; their flanks have white-black-spotted stripes below sky-blue stripes, and their bellies are bright orange. The females, in water camouflage, are mottled brown and have some weak spotting on their backs. The biggest of the males can reach up to 9 cm, and the females up to 12 cm in length. After the mating season, they return their original color of mottled brown.
Alpine newts were originally confined to Central Europe and mountainous Southern Europe, as well as an isolated area on the northern Iberian Peninsula. It typically inhabit forests with good access to water in hilly to mountainous regions. They are mostly absent in forest-poor areas. They populate well in thick deciduous forests, as well as parkland and natural gardens. Outside the spawning season, Alpine newts live terrestrially. During the day it stays in all kinds of undergrowth, but during the mating season in cool water (forest pools, artificial pools). After the adults come out of winter dormancy, they migrate to their spawning pools.
3 Comments
mmh ... i think this specimen here is a fire salamander due to the fact that alpine newts give birth to fully developed offspring (on the first pic i can see external gills) ... i had just the same discussion with Marton Szabolcs in july ...
That is my guess too :) especially because of its legs!
Cute! My vote is for Salamander. Longer body, external gills, long tail and non-webbed feet on fairly evenly sized legs are consistent with Salamanders I think. Frog tadpoles have distinctly longer hind legs than front legs.