Description
Until now it was believed to live only in a few square kilometres on the Vezzena Plateau (Trentino), where it was first observed in 2008, and on the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni (Veneto). But a timely report by a citizen, shared with a forest ranger, led researchers to carry out a series of scientific field verifications and ascertain the presence of a stable population of Aurora salamander in Val di Sella, on the north-facing slope of the Ortigara-Cima XII massif, a habitat hitherto considered unsuitable for the subspecies.
"This is one of the most relevant news in the field of herpetology - the science that studies amphibians and reptiles - in recent years at a provincial level, and a discovery of great importance for the ecology and conservation of this extremely rare amphibian," emphasises Emma Centomo, research collaborator at MUSE and co-primary author of the study.
The new MUSE study was published in the scientific journal Acta Herpetologica:
https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/19462
The Aurora salamander
The Aurora salamander, which MUSE and CNR have been studying since 2017, is an endemic subspecies of the south-eastern Pre-Alps. A yellowish-black livery, with larger dorsal spots often fused together, and a length of 10 cm, it has an extremely limited distribution (about 31 km²) and a very slow reproductive rate (1-2 young every 2-4 years), making it one of the rarest and most endangered amphibians in Italy. It is named after Aurora, wife of the first descriptor Luigi Trevisan.