YUNNAN LAKE NEWT

The Yunnan Lake Newt (YLN) was a newt that lived in the region in and around Kunming Lake in the Yunnan Providence in China.  The YLN was about an inch long and the male and female coloration varied slightly.

 The Yunnan Lake Newt was last seen in 1979.  As the cities around its lake habitat increased, its population plummeted. Amphibians like frogs, salamanders, and newts are extremely vulnerable to pollution because they absorb water, oxygen, and even toxins through their porous skin.  There are many concerns for many amphibian species today (see 2nd link below).

 Besides pollution, habitat loss for increased housing also took its toll on the YLN population.  The addition of invasive species were the nail in the coffin for this species.  The newts couldn't compete with the addition of domestic ducks, exotic fish and frogs added to the lake.

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

 http://www.edgeofexistence.org/amphibians/species_info.php?id=1367

http://frogsaregreen.org/tag/yunnan-lake-newt/

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/otherprehistoriclife/ss/10-Recently-Extinct-Amphibians.htm#step5

This photo from Wikipedia.org shows the variations between male and female YLN's

A specimen of a YLN 





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