A monotypic genus containing a widely-distributed species, S. keyserlingii. In older literature this is often considered to be a Hynobius species.
External characteristics of the genus are given by Zhao et al as follows: body small, adult length less than 15cm; tail less than body length; labial folds absent or inconspicuous; longitudinal grooves on the throat; palms and soles lack cornified coverings: tongue rounded and broad; four fingers, four toes; gelatinous egg sacs larger than adult total length, egg production high, egg size small, eggs arranged in irregular rows within the sac. Lungs are present. Lives in water during non-reproductive period.
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution | Size | Notes |
| Salamandrella | ||||
| S. keyserlingii | Siberian Newt (D: Siberischer Winzelzahnmolch) | Russia from Gorky as far as Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Islands, N Mongolia, NE China, N Korea, N Japan (Hokkaido) | 13cm | 13-15 costal grooves. Longevity is about 20-30 years. Coloration: overall grey to black, but dorsally bronze from top of head to tip of tail: flanks and sides of tail have marbled appearance. Lower flanks have white spotting. Throat is flesh-coloured, belly grey and lightly stippled. Reproduction: courtship takes place during early part of the year, often during snow thaw. The newts search out unfrozen water (which is usually partially covered in ice and at temperatures of about 3-4 deg C). Courtship takes about 2 weeks, after which the animals return to a terrestrial mode of existence, usually living in damp places within reach of water. Occasionally they may also lay eggs in autumn. |
Herpetology of China, Er-mi Zhao and Kraig Adler, SSAR, 1993. Catalogue of practically every reptile and amphibian species found in mainland China, Hongkong, Macao, Tibet and Taiwan. There are few details of the ecology of the animals, but readers are referred to a very comprehensive bibliography, and colour plates are provided for many of the creatures listed.
Studies on Chinese Salamanders, Er-mi Zhao, Qixiong Hu, Yaoming Zhang and Yuhua Yang, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 1988. Key English-language work on all the Caudata found in China.
Urania Tierreich: Fische, Lurche, Kriechtiere, Kurt Deckert et al, Urania-Verlag, Jena, Berlin 1991. Compact but useful overview of the "lower vertebrates" with descriptions of representative species.
Kedrovaya Padj Reserve has a very comprehensive and interesting section on the ecology of S. keyserlingii.
S. Kuzmin's picture of S. keyserlingii.
The Nizhni Novgorod Society for the Protection of Amphibians and Reptiles has a section on its work to conserve threatened amphibians in its area, including S. keyserlingii.
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