2008

Asiatic Herpetological Research, Vol. 11

pp.93–97

The Life History of Triturus vittatus vittatus (Urodela)in Various Habitats
OREN PEARLSON1,2,3 AND GAD DEGANI1,2,*
1

MIGAL–Galilee Technology Center, P.O. Box 831, Kiryat Shmona 11016, Israel,2
School of Science and Technology, Tel Hai Academic College, Galilee, Israel,
3
Institute of Evolution, Faculty of Sciences and Science Education, University of Haifa, Israel.
*Corresponding author E-mail: gad@migal.co.il
Abstract.- The life cycle of Triturus v. vittatus at localities of various altitudes in Israel, ranging from 212 to 740 mabove sea level (ASL), were studied. Mature newts were observed only around winter rain pools, where they arrived
before the pools filled with water. The males left the ponds after spawning, while females left after eggs wereoviposited on plants and other substrata, according to the conditions of the ponds. Males (9–11 cm long, weighing4.3–5.3 g) were slightly bigger than females (8.5–10 cm long, weighing 3.1–4.3 g) Females laid 18–68 eggs each.
Fifteen to 30 days after oviposition, larvae hatched and from April to July, remained in the ponds to develop. Various
anuran larvae were found in the same breeding sites, including Hyla savignyi, Bufo viridis, Rana bedriagae andPelobates syriacus. Larval and adult Salamandra infraimmaculata were found to inhabit several of the rain pools
simultaneously, although the period during which both stages existed together was brief. Although temperature andoxygen levels in the pools were not significantly different between breeding sites in the various habitats, development
took longer to complete at the more elevated sites.
Keywords.- Newt, larvae, Triturus v. vittatus, winter pool, Israel, life cycle.

Introduction

Materials and Methods

The life cycle and ecological conditions necessary forthe banded newt (Triturus vittatus) have not been wellstudied, although some aspects of the biology and life
cycle of the subspecies T. v. vittatus have been documented in Israel, Europe and the Mediterranean region(Raxworthy, 1989; Olgun et al., 1997). Three subspeciesof the banded newt are currently recognized: T. v. vittatus, found along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean,
ranging from Turkey to Israel; T. v. cilicensis, found inareas bordering the east and northeast of theMediterranean; and T. v. ophryticus, located in theCaucasus to the east and south of the Black Sea.
In Israel, Triturus v. vittatus is found from the northto the central coastal plains, where conditions are mostextreme. The biology and life cycle of the populations innorthern Israel and Upper Galilee have been previously
described (Degani, 1986; Degani and Mendelssohn,1983). Throughout their adult aquatic phase and larval
periods, T. v. vittatus mainly inhabits winter pools thatsometimes disappear at the beginning of summer(Degani and Kaplan, 1999). The terrestrial adults reachthe pond at the beginning of the rainy season before theponds fill with water, and when the ponds are filled,
enter them for their aquatic phase.

In order to locate Triturus v. vittatus, all of the maintypes of aquatic habitats inhabited by amphibian larvae
in northern Israel were investigated. The procedure followed was that described by Degani and Kaplan (1999).
The various Triturus v. vittatus populations aroundwinter rain ponds and rock pools in northern Israel werestudied during four consecutive years (2001–2005) (Fig.
1). The elevations of these habitats ranged from 212 to740 m ASL and represented a number of extreme ecological and physical conditions. Water parameters weremeasured every two weeks during the time the pools
were filled. In situ temperature and dissolved oxygen
data were obtained by a hand-held oxygen meter (WTW,Oxi330 set, Germany). Water parameters were analyzed
by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by
the Student–Newman–Keuls (SNK) test, for which
Graph-Pad Prism software (Graph Pad, San Diego, CA)
was used. The level of significance between groups wasset at p < 0.05.
Larvae were collected with a hand net (Degani andMendelssohn, 1983), identified to species and groupedby specific water body.

© 2008 by Asiatic Herpetological Research

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Asiatic Herpetological Research, Vol. 11

T. v. ophryticus

T. v. cilisensis
T. v. vittatus

Name of pond

Longitude

Latitude

Altitude m (ASL)

Dovev pond (A)239158772801

740

Nahalit pond (B)243657776401

665

Matityahu Q. pond (C)242783774855670

Pharaa pond (D)242784774580682

Amiad water holes (E)251721757994212

Figure 1. Various ponds in Israel colonized with newts examined in the study.

Results
The life cycle of Triturus v. vittatus is presented in
Figure 2. Males and females arrived at the dried ponds
before the beginning of the heavy rains in October andNovember and entered them when they were filled.
Male newts (9–11 cm long and weighing 4.3–5.3 g)
were found to be slightly bigger than females (8.5–10cm long and weighing 3.1–4.3 g), with no significant
difference in size detected for either sex between ponds(Fig. 3).

After mating, the males left the ponds while thefemales remained in the water to deposit between 18–68
eggs on plants or rock surfaces. The larvae hatched 19–
29 days later and remained in the rain pool for 30 to 75
days. Hatching time and duration spent in the pool wasdependent on water temperature (Fig. 4), with development being slower at higher altitudes.
Various anuran larvae were found in the same
breeding sites, including Hyla savignyi, Bufo viridis,
Rana bedriagae, and Pelobates syriacus. Larval andadult Salamandra infraimmaculata were found to inhab-2008

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Asiatic Herpetological Research, Vol. 11

brief. The eggs and larvae developed in the ponds only
when temperatures rose above 18°C, the threshold temperature also necessary for metamorphosis in S. infraimmaculata.
From winter to spring temperatures rose from 5°C
to 30°C (Fig. 4). No significant differences in temperature were observed between the various ponds (p > 0.05,F-value = 0.1766–1.186) during the periods when thenewt larvae were present, although temperatures in
Dovev pond were lower at the beginning of the growthperiod during the years 2001–2002, 2003–2004 andmost of the growth period in 2004–2005. Dissolved oxygen concentrations did not vary between sites (p > 0.05,F-value = 0.3489–2.326), ranging between 2–27 mg/L;
concentrations stayed between 5–10 mg/L for most of
the growth period. High oxygen concentrations weredetected during the larval growth period and during
completion of metamorphosis (Fig. 4).

Discussion

Figure 2. Life cycle of T. v. vittatus: Terrestrial (A) andaquatic females (B), eggs on plants in the pond few days
after spawning (C), larvae one day before hatching (D)and 2 days after hatching (E), and developing larvae (F).

it several of the rain pools simultaneously, although theperiod during which both stages existed together wasSince newt larval development is dependent on an
aquatic habitat, the locations of breeding sites changed
from year to year depending on water availability. This
site flexibility is an important environmental adaptation
in a semi-arid country such as Israel. The data obtained
from the five different newt populations examined inthis study were consistent with those data obtained inprevious studies on the same subspecies in Upper
Galilee (Degani and Kaplan, 1999; Degani andMendelssohn, 1983) and the coastal plains of Israel(Geffen et al., 1987), supporting observations that T. v.
vittatus is present in water in Israel between Decemberand April. Adults of T. v. ophryticus in northern Turkey
differ in that they are usually found in the water from14MalesFemales

12108Weight

6420Weight
Matityahu Q. pond

Matityahu Q. pond

LengthDovev pond

Dovev pond

Pharaa pond

Pharaa pond

WeightAmiad waterholes

Amiad waterholes

LengthNahalit pond

Nahalit pond

Figure 3. The measurements of mature females (N = 27) and males (N =15) from various populations.

96

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Asiatic Herpetological Research, Vol. 1120 01 -2 00 2T em perature

Oxygen35

PharaaMatityahu Q .
Nahalit
Dovev

30

Temperature ( °C)3025
20DO mg/L

201510105yJul1751501257510050yarly

Janu

175Ju15012575

1005025yarnu
Ja

Day

2500Day

2002-2003
Temperature
Amiad
PharaaMatityahu Q.
Nahalit
Dovev

Oxygen2520Oxygen (mg/L)

15
10520
15
1050ayM

1005075

Ja
nu
ar
yay
M

10075

5025January025

Temperature ( °C)

25DayDay

2 0 0 3 -2 0 0 4

T e m p e ra tu reOxygenAmiad
P har aa
Matityah u Q .
N ah alit
D o vev

25Oxygen (mg/L)

201020151050015ne512Ju0107550n.
Ja015e512Jun010755025Jan.

025

Temperature (°C)

30D ayD ay

2004-2005

Temperature

Oxygen (mg/L)

151052015105Ju
ne15012575

10050

150Ju
ne

12575

10050

252500Janu
aryTemperature ( ° C)

2520

Janu
ar
y

Amiad
PharaaMatityahu Q.
Nahalit
Dovev

Oxygen25Figure 4. Water temperatures and oxygen concentration of various breeding sites where T. v. vittatus newts were present during winter and spring 2001 to 2005.

2008

Asiatic Herpetological Research, Vol. 11

early March to late Octoberor November, depending on
the climate and altitude (Kutrup, 2005b). We suggestthat the differences between the two subspecies are due
to regional climate differences.
Kutrup et al. (2005a) studied the food of the banded
newt, Triturus v. ophryticus, at different sites in Trabzon
in northern Turkey and discovered that the newts consume a wide variety of invertebrates during their aquaticphase. In Israel, the Salamandra infraimmaculata and T.
v. vittatus have a very similar diet, composed of various
invertebrates (Degani and Mendelssohn, 1978; Geffen etal., 1987).
In summary, the present study examined the life
cycle of Triturus v. vittatus in northern Israel, which wasfound to vary depending on the unpredictable presenceof rain pools necessary for juvenile development.
Among the different ponds, large variations were foundin the length of the larval growth period, as well as in thetime required for completion of metamorphosis. In contrast, no differences were observed in the ecologicalparameters and water quality of the ponds during the larval growth period.

97

Kutrup, B., U. Bulbul and N. Yilmaz. 2005b. Age structure in two populations of Triturus vittatus ophryticus at different altitudes. Amphibia-Reptilia 26:49–54.
Olgun, K., V. Tok, J. Arntzen and O. Turkozan. 1997.
The taxonomic status of the banded newt (Triturusvittatus) in southern Turkey. The Herpetological
Journal 7: 169–171.
Raxworthy, C. 1989. Courtship, fighting and sexual
dimorphism of the banded newt, Triturus vittatus
ophryticus. Ethology 81: 148–170.

Literature Cited
Degani, G. 1986. Growth and behavior of six species ofamphibian larvae in winter ponds in Israel.
Hydrobiologia. 140: 5–10.
Degani, G. and D. Kaplan. 1999. Distribution ofamphibian larvae in Israeli habitats with changeable water availability. Hydrobiologia 405: 49–56.
Degani, G. and H. Mendelssohn. 1978. The food ofSalamandra salamandra (L.) tadpoles in Israel indifferent habitats. Israel Journal of Ecology
C.19–C.45.
Degani, G. and H. Mendelssohn. 1983. The habitats,distribution and life history of Triturus vittatus vittatus (Jenyns) in the Mount Meron area (UpperGalilee, Israel). British Journal of Herpetology 6:317–319.
Geffen, E., S. Gafny and A. Gasith. 1987. Contribution
to the knowledge of the biology of the banded newt,Triturus vittatus vittatus, in rainpools in Israel.
Israel Journal of Zoology 34: 213–223.
Kutrup, B., E. Akir and N. Yilmaz. 2005a. Food of thebanded newt, Triturus vittatus ophryticus(Berthold, 1846), at different sites in Trabzon.
Turkish Journal of Zoology 29: 83–89.
Submitted: 08 January 2007
Accepted: 22 September 2007