Added 12 August 2003. Last updated 24 March 2014: updated Introduction, Bibliography and Links.

The Family Salamandridae: Newts and Salamanders

Genus Cynops - Fire-Bellied Newts

Cynops is a smallish genus of semi- to mostly aquatic newts that tend to live in calm, well-vegetated water. The common name derives from the bright display colours on the belly (usually orange, red or yellow), although dorsally they are usually black. Only two are seen with any regularity in the pet trade: C. pyrrhogaster and C. orientalis. The rest have fairly small ranges, and sadly C. wolterstorffi (and possibly the other rarer species) may now be extinct in the wild.

Zhao et al (see Bibliography) divide the genus into three groups: the pyrrhogaster group (C. pyrrhogaster and C. ensicauda), the orientalis group (orientalis only) and the wolterstorffi group (C. wolterstorffi and C. cyanurus). LivingUnderworld (see Links) add C. chenggongensis to the latter group. So far I have found no data on C. orphicus.

In the 1970s a further species was described from Hong Kong, C. shautaukokensis. This was later invalidated as the specimens were judged to be a form of C. pyrrhogaster.

External characteristics of the genus are given by Zhao et al as follows: labial folds conspicuous: skin tuberculate: vertebral ridge noticeable: limbs long, fingers or toes touch or overlap when appressed: fingers and toes slim and small: tongue small, free at both edges. Neoteny can occur.

Indiviglio, Mattison, Patterson and Zimmermann give care instructions for these attractive newts. The consensus seems to be a water depth of at least 8"(20cm) with aquatic vegetation, and a winter cooling period. See also Bibliography and Links.

C. chenggongensis, Chenggong Fire-Bellied Newt	C. cyanurus, Blue-Tailed Fire-Bellied Newt	C. ensicauda, Japanese Sword-Tail Newt
C. orientalis, Chinese Fire-Bellied Newt	C. orphicus, Guangdong Fire-Bellied Newt	C. pyrrhogaster, Japanese Fire-Bellied Newt
C. wolterstorffi

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Cynops
C. chenggongensis	Chenggong Fire-Bellied Newt	S China (Yunnan)	86- 97mm	Found at 1,940m altitude: known only from type locality. LivingUnderworld (see Links) note that on the basis of known data this species would fit into the wolterstorffi group, which would make it similar if not the same in coloration and other identifying characteristics to C. wolterstorffi and C. cyanurus. Skin rather smooth: vertebral ridge not prominent. Coloration: row of orange-yellow lateral spots from shoulder to base of tail: females have conspicuous spots on tail.
C. cyanurus	Blue-Tailed Fire-Bellied Newt	S China (NE Yunnan and W Guizhou)	?	Parotid gland inconspicuous: arched back: skin rough: outer palmar and tarsal tubercle are conical. Coloration: orange-red round spot behind eye:dorsum black, vertebral ridge brownish-yellow.
C. c. cyanurus		S China (W Guizhou)
C. c. yunnanensis		S China (NE Yunnan)
C. ensicauda	Japanese Sword-Tail Newt	Japan (Ryuku islands)	6"/ 15cm	Parotid gland very conspicuous: arched back: skin rough: outer palmar and tarsal tubercle are rounded. Coloration: no spot behind eye: dorsum and vertebral ridge black. Dorsum may also be brown and there may be a band of silvery-blue in the tail: some individuals may also have brown, yellow or greenish patches. Ventral coloration varies from yellow to orange mottled with black, occasionally almost entirely black with only vestiges of yellow-orang or red [Kowalski].
C. e. ensicauda
C. e. popei				Some adults of this subspecies may develop two reddish-brown dorsolateral stripes [Kowalski].
C. orientalis	Chinese Fire-Bellied Newt	E & C China		Parotid gland conspicuous: flattened back: skin smooth: outer palmar and tarsal tubercle are rounded. Coloration: no spot behind eye: dorsum and vertebral ridge black.
C. orphicus	Guangdong Fire-Bellied Newt?	China (Guangdong)		Head flattened, with fairly prominent canthus rostralis; skin very finely granulated. Tail has moderate dorsal and ventral fins, which are apparently more pronounced than in other species. Coloration: bright dots constantly present near base and palm on the underside of each fore and hind limb; ventral pattern consists of an irregular light median longitudinal stripe and dark spots arranged in lateral rows; tail has small blackish dots.
C. pyrrhogaster	Japanese Fire-Bellied Newt	Japan (Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku)		Parotid gland very conspicuous: arched back: skin rough: outer palmar and tarsal tubercle are rounded. Coloration: no spot behind eye: dorsum and vertebral ridge black.
C. wolterstorffi	Wolterstorff's Newt	China (S Yunnan)		Parotid gland inconspicuous: arched back: skin rough: outer palmar and tarsal tubercle are rounded. Coloration: orange-red round spot behind eye: dorsum black, vertebral ridge brownish-yellow.

Bibliography

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.

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.

Keeping and Breeding Amphibians, Chris Mattison, Blandford Press, 1993.

Newts & Salamanders - a complete pet owner's manual, Frank Indiviglio, Barrons 1997.

Newts, Jordan Patterson, TFH, 1994.

"Cynops ensicauda: Keeping and Breeding the Japanese Swordtail Newt", Edward Kowalski, Reptilia 29. Very useful article on the husbandry and breeding of this species, and also gives pointers on C. orientalis. Has useful Bibliography of other mostly recent Cynops articles and sources.

Links