Records of <em>Salamandrina perspicillata</em> (Savi, 1821) in the Colli Albani (Latium, central Italy), with some ecological notes (Urodela, Salamandridae)

Abstract

The distribution of the Northern Spectacled Salamander in the Colli Albani (= Albani Hills), together with some ecological aspects at eight sites are reported. In four sites, oviposition took place between February and April, but in the other four it probably started at least in the first half of december. Eggs were deposited into the water of either temporary or perennial spring ponds or inside flooded man-made tuff tunnels. In some sites, which do not undergo summer drought, some larvae surpassed the summer and even the following winter. For one site, length and weight of 52 ovipositing females were recorded and larval development was monitored. A clear relation between larval body size and limb development did not appear.