Onychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Onychodactylus fischeri, also known as Fischer's clawed salamander or Russian clawed salamander, is a lungless salamander found in the Russian Far East. It was thought to have ranged throughout Northeast Asia, but this was based on paraphyletic species assignment, and the Chinese and Korean populations are now considered as distinct species. It has 78 chromosomes in total (27 pairs of microchromosomes, six pairs of medium-sized chromosomes, and six pairs of large chromosomes). Onychodactylus fischeri is known to live at elevations up to 1000 m, and favors thickly-vegetated stretches of pebble-bottomed mountain streams, with little direct sunlight. It may also be found near underground springs. The mating season is from mid-March to mid-May. The eggs are laid in streams; the aquatic larvae emerge after approximately 5 weeks. It is threatened by habitat change, such as tree felling in stream headwaters. The adult males of the species are 17–18 cm long; adult females are slightly longer, 18–19 cm. The dorsal aspect is yellowish brown, with bands of dark brown spots throughout. The ventral aspect is lighter in color, without spots.
Wikipedia contributors, Onychodactylus fischeri; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:31:15.625122+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Onychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1886)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Hynobiidae
- Genus
- Onychodactylus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familyHynobiidae Cope, 1859
- subfamilyOnychodactylinae Dubois & Raffaëlli, 2012
- genusOnychodactylus Tschudi, 1838
- speciesOnychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Onychodactylus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Onychodactylus fuscus Yoshikawa & Matsui, 2014 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782) | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus koreanus Min, Poyarkov & Vieites, 2012 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus tsukubaensis Yoshikawa & Matsui, 2013 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus zhangyapingi Che, Poyarkov, Li & Yan, 2012 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus zhaoermii Che, Poyarkov & Yan, 2012 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus pyrrhonotus Yoshikawa & Matsui, 2022 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus intermedius Yoshikawa & Matsui, 2014 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Onychodactylus nipponoborealis Kuro-o, Poyarkov & Vieites, 2012 | HynobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Geomolge fischeri Boulenger, 1886 Boulenger, 1886 | synonym |
| Onychodactylus rossicus Nikolskii, 1914 Nikolskii, 1914 | synonym |
| Onychodactylus russicus Nikolskii, 1914 Nikolskii, 1914 | synonym |
| Nychodactylus fischeri (Boulenger, 1886) (Boulenger, 1886) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=668230 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6SM8V. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.