Sword-tail newt

<h2 id="habitat-and-distribution">Habitat and distribution</h2>
<p>The sword-tailed newt is only found on the <a href="/facts/Ryukyu_Archipelago/94rjkv8f">Ryukyu Archipelago</a>, an island chain off the southern coast of Japan, as well as on many smaller surrounding islands.
The newts typically live in cool, stagnant bodies of water. They are commonly found in man-made structures such as rice paddies, road-side ditches, and cattle waterholes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
The two known subspecies of sword-tailed newt are <i>C. e. ensicauda</i> and <i>C. e. popei</i>.  Due to the <a href="/facts/Subtropical/gK0KyFUD">subtropical</a> climate of its native habitat, it is more tolerant of high temperatures than other <i>Cynops</i>.
The sword-tailed newt has no natural predators, thus deforestation and land development are the main causes of their endangerment.
</p><p>As of 2010, breeding grounds were visited by 75% less newts than in 1996. Many of their breeding sites are in roadside ditches and gutters, and they are highly territorial, making it difficult to relocate them.
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<h2 id="trends-and-threats">Trends and threats</h2>
<p>The populations of <i>C. ensicauda</i> have declined in recent years, especially as a result of habitat destruction due to land development. Large predatory fish of the genus <i><a href="/facts/Tilapia_(genus)/sGHHVsgn">Tilapia</a></i> have been introduced into traditional breeding ponds. Even in locations where suitable forest habitat has been preserved, the construction of access roads with concrete drainage ditches kills many; the newts wander to forage on rainy days and may fall into the ditches, where they will die when the rain ceases (Goris and Maeda 2004).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml">Caudata Culture caresheet and photos of Swordtail Newt</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Frost, Darrel R. (2022). "Cynops ensicauda (Hallowell, 1861)". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 16 December 2022. <a href="https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Caudata/Salamandridae/Pleurodelinae/Cynops/Cynops-ensicauda" target="_blank">https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Caudata/Salamandridae/Pleurodelinae/Cynops/Cynops-ensicauda</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops ensicauda <a href="http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops ensicauda <a href="http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops ensicauda <a href="http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_ensicauda.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"AmphibiaWeb - Cynops ensicauda". amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2017-03-03. <a href="http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Cynops&where-species=ensicauda" target="_blank">http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Cynops&where-species=ensicauda</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Sword-tail newt open-in-new

Sword-tail newt