Habitat Preference of the Himalayan Salamander in Forests

Abstract

The Himalayan Salamander Tylototriton verrucosus is the only known genus of the family Salamanderidae (Order: Caudata) known from India and occurs along the eastern Himalayas: stretching from eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan to Arunachal Pradesh, Naga Hills to Burma and Yunnan Hills of China. This distribution stretches into the hills of northern Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

A wide variety of habitats are available for this species in the forests that occur in the eastern Himalayas of India. These include large puddles, flooded meadows, rock pools, ponds and lakes, gently flowing water, water tanks and reservoirs for supply of water to human settlements during the rainy seasons. Factors like size of water body, water pH, overlying vegetation and presence of different types and kinds of predators need to be taken into account by spawning salamanders during the rainy season. Likewise, at the time of hibernation factors like presence of food, sheltering sites under stones, rocks and boulders and presence of moss, bracken, loose and soft soil or mud need to be considered and the altitude.