Abstract1_1 (Hasumi)

Hasumi, M., and H. Iwasawa: Geographic variation in the tail of the Japanese salamander, Hynobius lichenatus, with special reference to taxonomic bearing. Zoological Science (Japan, International) 4(1): 159-166, February 1987.

Abstract: Tail vertebrae were observed radiographically in 283 males and 49 females of adult Hynobius lichenatus collected during the breeding season from 19 localities in northeastern Japan. The frequency of specimens with broken and regenerated tails was much higher when the sites of oviposition were in swifter flowing streams. The relative tail length of specimens with normal tails tended to be greater at higher latitude. It is difficult to distinguish externally most regenerated tails from normal tails. The dispersions of relative tail length, however, were remarkably greater in most localities when data from specimens with normal, questionable, and regenerated tails were used. It is, therefore, necessary to take notice of tail regeneration in the measurement of tail length for taxonomic purposes.