Abstract
The present study examined the visual discrimination learning of Japanese fire-bellied newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster). Four female newts were trained in a simultaneous visual bright and dark discrimination task using a dry T-maze. Two newts were assigned to a dark-positive condition and two to a bright-positive condition. Submersion in water was used as reinforcement. For correct responses, newts could enter into a water tank through an opening in the floor of the arm, whereas in the case of incorrect responses newts were dropped onto a net above the water. They learned to choose the positive arm and performed significantly better than chance during test trials when a net was put onto each goal water tank regardless of correctness of their responses. These results strongly suggest that newts can learn a simultaneous visual discrimination task and that submersion in water is effective reinforcement for Japanese fire-bellied newts.
