Abstract
Male breeding territoriality in a salamander, Hynobius takedai, was observed at Joyama, in the city of Toyama in 1982 and 1983 for 60 man-days at night. Males were marked by beads sewed on their tails. Males competed for good shelters in the water by biting, poking and wagging their tails. The dominant males resided at the shelters, and excluded other males from there. Attacking was made in an area of 22×22cm2 on the average and the duration of the residence extended for 15 days on the average. Females chose the shelters for spawning and, therefore, the males that had resided at good shelters succeeded in inseminating females. On the contrary, males that had not resided followed moving females or quickly approached spawning ones. They had little chances to succeed in insemination. The behavior of residing at a fixed place and excluding other males from there is regarded as a territorial behavior. The defended resouces are the shelters suitable for spawning.
