• The Korean Journal of Zoology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.437-446
• /
• 1996

The courtship and fighting behaviors and the sexual dimorphism of the salamander Hynohius leechil were studied. The parameters, snout vent length, body length (from snout to tail tip), and proportion of snout vent length to body size were larger in the female than the male. Five physical parameter in males were significantly correlated with one another, body length, snout vent length, head width, tail vent length, and tall depth, while all, except tail depth, were significantly correlated in females. Sexual behavior of H. leechIl involved external fertilization and consisted of three stages, identifying the female, aifrading the female, and insemination. The identification stage consisted of a positive advance by the male toward the female and display of snout contact. The male attracted the female with chin rubbing, tail undulation, smelling, and digging displays. The insemination process consisted of four phases, amplex, separating egg sacs from the female's cloacal, fertilizing eggs, and post fertilization. liighting behaviors were quite simple. The attacking male would generally bite the opposite male's upper chin or hind limbs and then shakes his head two or three times. The bitten male, which in most cases was of a dissimilar body size, quicidy escaped from the attacking male. After fighting, winning male usually displayed rapid tail undulation.