Growth of Onychodactylus japonicus (A Preliminary Report)

Abstract

The authors have made a research on the growth of Onychodactylus japonicus with special reference to the measurements of the body length in samples collected at the upper stream of the river Kazunogawa (ca. 1500m), Otsuki-City, Yamanashi Prefecture in 1973 and 1974. The lengths of head, trunk and tail are highly correlated with the total body length. Proportion of the length of head and the length of trunk to the total body length decreased with the process of growing. While, the proportion of the length of tail to the total body length increased with the process of growing. It seems that the larva may start a land animal life after two years of aquatic life, when their body length becomes approximately 80mm.