Chinese Fire Belly Newt, scientifically Cynops orientalis, is a small black newt measuring 5.6 to 10.2 centimeters long, with bright orange warning coloration on its underside. It is commonly sold in pet stores, where it is frequently confused with the similarly sized and colored Japanese fire belly newt, though it has smoother skin, a rounder tail and less obvious parotoid glands. It is endemic to subtropical forests in east-central China, where it favors shallow, semiaquatic habitats such as abandoned rice paddies and ponds with dense vegetation, and like many amphibians it hibernates.
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