A range extension for the striped newt

Throughout the range of the striped newt, Notophthalmus perstriatus, which extends northward from northern central Florida to northeastern Georgia, this salamander has a strangely localized, enigmatic, distribution.

Within its known range, this newt may be found in one pothole pond and be absent from several others nearby. Or, conversely, populations may exist in most ponds but not in one or two others that to humans, at least, seem identical. It has become apparent to researchers that what to them seems eminently suitable habitat is considered otherwise by newt populations.

Some populations of striped newts are predominantly paedomorphic, the salamanders becoming sexually mature while still gilled larvae.

We are so accustomed to learning of reduced amphibian numbers that when today both Glenn Bartolotti and Kevin Enge announced that the latter researcher had found a new population of striped newts in Osceola County, Florida, the news was very welcome. Of considerable interest is the fact that this population extends the previously suspected southern range limits of the newt well to the southeast. We can only hope that other discrete populations exist and are awaiting discovery.

Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.