Photographic database of the European cave salamanders, genus Hydromantes
Enrico Lunghi, Simone Giachello, Yahui Zhao, Claudia Corti, Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Raoul Manenti
Abstract
European Hydromantes are a group of eight salamander species often occurring in subterranean habitats, which are a difficult environment to explore. All Hydromantes are strictly protected species and thus, low-impact methodologies to study these salamanders are strongly needed. Here we used a photographic technique to produce a large dataset of European Hydromantes, providing standardised pictures of 1,052 individuals belonging to the eight species, including hybrids as well. With our methodology we were able to reduce the handling time of individuals, and produce high quality pictures useful to investigate multiple life traits of these endangered species. Furthermore, the standardised photos provided here can be used for future comparisons of individuals from the surveyed populations.