Some aspects of captive breeding of the Karelin’s Newt, Triturus Karelinii Strauch, 1870 from Talysh population

Abstract

Data on reproduction of the Karelin’s newt from the Talysh population in captivity are provided. 11 pairs from the Zarbyulyun natural boundary (Astara administrative region, Azerbaijan) were involved in the study. Oviposition was observed between 19 and 90 days after placement of animals into water. Females spawned between January 24 and June 5 at a temperature of 6.0–23.5 °C. The total duration of the oviposition period in different pairs was between 40 and 133 days. Fertility of females during the reproductive period varied from 44 to 2362 eggs, an average daily amount of eggs was 0.6–19.0. The maximum length of the laid egg in the first day after oviposition was 3.8–5.8 mm, the maximum width — 2.4–3.3 mm, diameter of the vitellus: 1.8–2.7 mm. Developmental time estimated from oviposition to hatching was 7–15 days, and larval development from hatching to start of feed- ing was 5–8 days. During the reproductive period, we obtained 14 to 345 prelarvae from each female, that was 10.3–41.2% of the laid eggs. The survival of prelarvae from hatching to start of feeding from different spawns was 61.5–100.0%, so that from each female 14 to 328 actively feeding larvae were obtained. Refs 7.