Yep, it's arguably
the most beautiful hynobiid species
It's the most widely distributed lotic (stream) breeding
Hynobius species in Japan, but it's found only on Honshu Island. Here's a map showing its distribution:
<font size="-2">(the big island above Honshu is not actually located off to the left of it as shown there but above the northern tip of Honshu)
</font>
There's marked genetic differentiation within Honshu. Indeed, those in the easternmost part of its range (the Kanto District that includes Tokyo) look quite different in terms of color and marking pattern from those elsewhere, namely the Chubu, Kinki and Chugoku districts to the west. Compare the one above with the ones the Henk keeps and has posted photographs of, and you'll see the difference between this one and his immediately.
It's found at altitudes ranging from 320-1,100 meters. Not as high as
Onychodactylus japonicus (Japanese Clawed Salamander, but larvae of these two species sometimes share the same areas downstream. Since
H. kimurae is up there in the mountains, it's less threatened than many other species and enjoys an IUCN Red List Status of a species of "Least Concern"
Still, it really depends on the place, as in some prefectures it is locally listed as "Near Threatened"
For more info on genetic variation, see:
Allozyme variation of Hynobius kimurae Dunn (Amphibia, Caudata) (1999)
<font size="-2">By M. Matsui, Y. Misawa, K. Nishikawa, S. Tanabe</font>
(Message edited by TJ on February 23, 2007)