Species account

Description
Small salamander, rather robust with moderately broad head. Head flattened, a little longer than wide, wider than trunk. Snout truncated. Tongue significantly longer than in continental Speleomantes, but shorter than in Sardinian Speleomantes. Eyes large and protruding. In young specimens the nostrils are particularly large, provided with a small tentacle under the lower side. In adults a more or less distinct swelling in the area of the nasolabial groove. Gular fold present. No paratoids and no labial fold. Body short, slender, cylindrical, with 13 trunk vertebrae. Tail cylindrical, approximately same length as snout-vent length or a little shorter, tapering to a sharp point. Limbs well developed, with four fingers and five toes, clearly truncate and often enlarged at tips. Foot large but significantly smaller than in Sardinian congeners. Fingers webbed at the base, toes half-webbed. Skin smooth (Thorn, 1969; Lanza et al., 1995, 2007; Lanza, 1999).
Sexual dimorphism not pronounced. Premaxillary teeth slightly enlarged in male (Greven et al., 2004). Mental gland under the chin in the male is poorly visible outside the breeding season. No cloacal swelling. Cloacal opening is a longitudinal fold, situated a little more backward in the male than in the female (Thorn, 1969).

Dorsal parts dark brown to blackish, often with a more or less brown, olive-green or, rarely, ochre yellow marbling, sprinkled with whitish dots. Ventral side less pigmented, uniformly bright or brown gray. The purplish aspect of the belly is due to the interior organs that are visible through the skin which is more or less transparent. Ventral side usually with a more developed dark stippling than in other Sardinian species. In young specimens dorsal parts are often more or less extensively greenish, with a metallic sheen (Thorn, 1969; Lanza et al., 1995).

Two different forms have been described, that may be species or subspecies, based on genetic differences. The two forms cannot be distinguished morphologically (Lanza et al., 2007). Their exact range boundaries are unclear.

Total length 115 mm in males and 124 mm in females (Lanza et al., 1995).

Diagnosis
Small dark-coloured, lungless salamander. Canthus rostralis missing or poorly developed, giving the snout a rounded appearance. Foot large, but smaller than in other Sardinian species; tongue longer than in continental species of Speleomantes, but shorter than in Sardinian species. Heteromorphic sex chromosomes absent. Genetically well differentiated, showing a higher number of diagnostic loci than in Speleomantes species, from 16 to 24 (Lanza et al., 1995).

Eggs
Like species of Speleomantes, Atylodes genei reproduces through direct development of a small number of terrestrial eggs. The female stays with the eggs until they hatch as fully metamorphosed young salamanders. Papinuto (in lit.) has recorded the behaviour of a female and her clutch of 10 eggs, from which juveniles hatched in August, four and a half months after the clutch was discovered in a mine gallery near Domusnovas. The female sporadically moved away from the eggs. When coming back to the clutch she would hold it with an arm and keep the clutch raised with her tail. During this time the egg diameter changed from 5-6 to 10 mm. After hatching, eight newborn salamanders 20-25 mm long stayed close to or even on their mother, leaving the spot about two weeks later (Lanza et al., 2006; 2007).

Distribution
The species is endemic to the region known as Sulcis-Iglesiente, Province of Cagliari, southwestern Sardinia (Lanza et al., 1995). The form provisionally termed form A occurs in the more northern part, form B in the Carbonia – Barbusi – Monte Tasua area. Specimens belonging to A. genei B were found at a locality more than 17 km outside its known range (Meijden et al., 2009).

Habitat
The species is found in humid outcrops, caves, crevices and forested areas at altitudes between 8 and 650 m, and possibly occurs at higher altitudes (Lanza et al., 2006). It is generally common within its range, except in the Carbonia – Barbusi – Monte Tasua area, where (sub)species B is found (Lanza et al., 2007).

Behaviour
Very little is known on the behaviour of this species. In summer salamanders can be found active on the walls of caves at a temperature of 14°C and an air humidity of 94%. Atylodes genei and Speleomantes species can project their tongue up to a distance of about 4-5 cm for catching prey. A. genei is particularly fast in this respect. During tongue projection on distant prey, the tongue is shot ballistically and the tongue skeleton leaves the body of the salamander entirely (Deban et al., 2007). This species is able to cast off its tail as a defense against predators (Romano et al., 2010). Courtship has been observed in captivity, but detailed descriptions of the courtship and mating of A. genei are lacking. It appears to be generally similar to that observed in species of Speleomantes. The male mounts the female, clasping her with fore and hind legs. He makes rubbing movements during which he applies his mental gland to the snout of the female. Both partners make undulating movements with their tail; spermatophore transfer was not observed (Lanza et al., 2006).

Threats and conservation
In spite of deforestation of its natural habitat, the species has persevered. It is considered vulnerable given its limited range (Stuart et al., 2008; IUCN, 2010).

Observations in captivity
Some captive observations have been reported by Lanza et al. (2007). The salamanders are difficult to keep and need a cool and dark terrarium. They have exceptionally lived longer than 6 years in captivity. Temperatures above 25°C were lethal (Thorn,1969).

Comments
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Atylodes genei Fiuminimaggiore
© 2010 Max Sparreboom

Range of Atylodes genei © 2010  IUCN, Conservation International & NatureServe