Ezo salamander
| Ezo salamander | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Hynobiidae |
| Genus: | Hynobius |
| Species: | H. retardatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hynobius retardatus (Dunn, 1923) | |
| Synonyms(Dunn, 1923) | |
|
Satobius retardatus | |
The Ezo salamander (Hynobius retardatus), also known as the Hokkaido salamander, Noboribetsu salamander, or Ezo Sanshouo in Japanese is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae. Prior to 1923 the species was also classified by the binomial scientific name Satobius retardatus. H. retardatus is endemic to Japan's northernmost prefecture, the island of Hokkaido. The species is a pond-type salamander, and its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, irrigated land, canals, and ditches.
In 1923, the species was discovered by American herpetologist Emmett Reid Dunn, the same year the Hida and Amber salamander species were discovered. H. retardatus was first observed on the eastern edge of the Noboribetsu region within Lake Kuttara (Kuttara-ko), although this specific population is now extinct. The name Ezo comes from Yezo, the old name of Hokkaido.