1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful but toxic.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Peaceful but toxic. Needs a large land area and shallow water; keep alone.
Good to know: Largely terrestrial; needs a large damp land area.
Crickets, worms and pellets.
Tap a food to see what it is.
As in other Tylototriton, males have a slit-shaped cloacal opening and females a round, cone-shaped cloaca.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-layer · Hard
Breeds in the wet season (May-August): adults enter ponds and pools and lay eggs singly or in strings on aquatic plants and rocks in standing water. In captivity, a cool, drier winter (lower 60s °F) then a warm, humid summer (upper 70s °F) with enough water triggers breeding.
Group of 3-4.
Paludarium with a damp land area and a shallow pool for the eggs.
Cool dry rest then rain.
20-80 eggs
Larvae eat daphnia and baby brine shrimp.
A black-and-orange crocodile newt from the mountains of Yunnan, China, with orange ridges and rows of poison-gland warts. It lives on land outside the breeding season. It is CITES Appendix II listed, but AmphibiaWeb says it has no special national protection in China.
Ronald Nussbaum, Edmund Brodie and Yang Datong described the emperor newt in 1995. It lives in mountains of Yunnan. Its black and orange colours made it popular in the pet trade.
First described by Ronald A. Nussbaum, Edmund D. Brodie Jr. & Yang Datong in 1995.
9 facts checked with sources
Amphibian (crocodile/knobby newt). Valid per ASW, though ASW notes it may be a species complex (one lineage nests within T. verrucosus; see also T. pulcherrimus) and Lao records are now T. podichthys. Captive "emperor newts" can be other Tylototriton (verrucosus, kweichowensis, yangi look alike). LEGAL: CITES: all Tylototriton spp. were added to Appendix II at CoP18 (2019), so international trade needs CITES permits (legacy statement agrees). AmphibiaWeb lists "No special protection" nationally for T. shanjing (may be out of date; check China's current protected-wildlife list). US: on the Lacey Act injurious list since 2016 (Bsal rule), so import into the US is prohibited; the 10 Jan 2025 final rule notes that after USARK v. Zinke (D.C. Cir. 2017) movement between states within the continental US is not prohibited, but shipment to/from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, DC and US territories still is. The legacy text "bans import and interstate movement" overstates the interstate part. T. shanjing is on the US list. EU/GB: Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/320 requires health certificates and Bsal quarantine/testing for commercial salamander consignments (all Caudata); the GB retained version is the one checked here, so confirm current EU rules under the Animal Health Law.
Amphibian Species of the World: Tylototriton shanjing Nussbaum, Brodie, and Yang, 1995 · AmphibiaWeb: Tylototriton shanjing · US Fish & Wildlife Service: List of salamanders designated as injurious · Federal Register 90(6), 10 Jan 2025: Injurious Wildlife Species; Listing Salamanders Due to Risk of Salamander Chytrid Fungus · Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/320 (Bsal salamander trade measures), legislation.gov.uk retained version · Hong Kong AFCD paper ESAC 6/2019 on CITES CoP18 amendmentsNew value.
Amphibian Species of the World: Tylototriton shanjing Nussbaum, Brodie, and Yang, 1995Total length maximum; only source is Wikipedia (AmphibiaWeb gives no size). Legacy 17 cm may be closer to typical adults.
Wikipedia: Tylototriton shanjingLower 60s °F ~ 16-17 °C in winter; upper 70s °F ~ 25-26 °C in summer. Air/terrarium temperatures for a breeding cycle (hobby reference), not water. Legacy 15-24 roughly agrees at the low end.
Caudata Culture (caudata.org care reference): Tylototriton shanjingTerrestrial most of the year; not an aquarium-level species.
AmphibiaWeb: Tylototriton shanjingNew value. IUCN Vulnerable (AmphibiaWeb).
Amphibian Species of the World: Tylototriton shanjing Nussbaum, Brodie, and Yang, 1995 · AmphibiaWeb: Tylototriton shanjingGenus-level statement from the T. kweichowensis care sheet; legacy "slimmer male" not sourced for this species.
Caudata Culture (caudata.org care reference): Tylototriton kweichowensisLegacy says eggs are laid on land near water; sources say in water (on plants/rocks). The rainy-season trigger fits.
AmphibiaWeb: Tylototriton shanjing · Caudata Culture (caudata.org care reference): Tylototriton shanjingLegacy "a protected species" is only true in the CITES (trade-permit) sense per AmphibiaWeb.
AmphibiaWeb: Tylototriton shanjing · Wikipedia: Tylototriton shanjing