- Turkish Journal of Zoology
- Vol: 39 Issue: 5
- First record of facultative paedomorphism in the Kosswig’s newt Lissotriton (vulgaris) kosswigi (Fre...
First record of facultative paedomorphism in the Kosswig’s newt Lissotriton (vulgaris) kosswigi (Freytag, 1955) (Urodela; Salamandridae), endemic to northwestern Turkey
Authors : Emin BOZKURT, Kurtuluş OLGUN, Kurtuluş OLGUN, Ben WIELSTRA
Pages : 976-980
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Publication Date : 9999-12-31
Article Type : Makaleler
Abstract :Facultative paedomorphism is regularly observed in salamanders, including newts of the Lissotriton vulgaris group. We document the first record of paedomorphism in L. (v.) kosswigi from a locality near Karasu, in the vicinity of Sakarya, Turkey. We compare measurements of 5 paedomorphic individuals with those of 10 metamorphic individuals from the same population and with measurements taken from the literature. Paedomorphs are on average bigger than metamorphs; intriguingly, the opposite pattern has been observed in the Turkish L. (v.) schmidtlerorum.Keywords : Anatolia, Lissotriton lantzi, Lissotriton vulgaris schmidtlerorum, neoteny, smooth newt