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Northeast Asian Salamander
Hynobius lichenatus
The Tohoku Salamander is a cryptic Japanese species highly specialized for cold mountain forests. It features a spectacular lichen-like gray and silver pattern that provides flawless natural camouflage.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Caudata
Family:Hynobiidae
Genus:Hynobius
Species:Hynobius lichenatus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
12 - 18 °C
Night temperature
8 - 12 °C
Ambient temperature
12 - 18 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Endemic to the cold montane forests, snowmelt streams, and damp marshes of northern Honshu, Japan (Tohoku region). They inhabit clean, cold streams and damp forest floors.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Reaches 11–15 cm in length, with a smooth, glossy skin. The dorsal color consists of a dark brown or black background heavily mottled with fine, lichen-like gray, silver, or gold spots. The belly is a solid dark gray.
Behavior and Habits: Mainly terrestrial and fossorial, spending daylight hours buried in damp moss or soil. In early spring, they migrate to slow-flowing, cold streams to breed and deposit gelatinous, tubular egg sacs.
Morphology: Females are larger and stockier, especially when carrying eggs. Breeding males develop swollen cloacal regions and slightly wider tail fins for aquatic locomotion.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: An aquarium or vertical-style terrarium with a terrestrial bias is suitable (minimum 60x45x30 cm). Provide a deep, burrowable substrate of organic soil and sphagnum moss covered with leaf litter. A shallow water zone (30-40% of the tank) with cold, moving water is required.
Lighting and Heating: Requires very cold temperatures, ideally 12–18°C. Temperatures above 22°C are rapidly fatal. A night drop to 8–12°C is recommended. Winter brumation at 2–6°C is necessary for breeding. Low-output UVB is beneficial but not strictly required.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity of 80–100%. The substrate must remain damp at all times. Spray the enclosure daily with cold, dechlorinated water. Excellent ventilation is critical to prevent stagnant, warm air.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strictly carnivorous. Feed small earthworms, slugs, and small roaches. Dust food with calcium and vitamins containing D3 once or twice a week.
Compatibility: Peaceful and gregarious with other individuals of the same species and size. Do not house with larger salamanders or predatory fish.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly vulnerable to heat stroke and skin necrosis if kept too warm. Stagnant water or dirty substrate can lead to fatal septicemia or fungal infections. Avoid handling with bare hands.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to the cold montane forests, snowmelt streams, and damp marshes of northern Honshu, Japan (Tohoku region). They inhabit clean, cold streams and damp forest floors.
Origin
East Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 14 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 14 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 14 cm for this species, recorded as total length (TL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
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Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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