California newt
The California newt is a small amphibian with a warty grey back and a bright orange-yellow belly. It lives only in California, in the western United States. Its skin contains a powerful poison, so it is a good example of an animal you should look at but never handle.1

Como recoñecelo
- Warty, slate-grey skin on the back1
- Bright orange-yellow skin on the underside1
- Orange skin around the bottom of the eye (the rough-skinned newt has grey there)1
- Eyes that stick out beyond the edge of the jaw when seen from above, giving the head a bullet-like shape1
- Adults are about 13 to 20 cm long1
Adoita confundirse con: The rough-skinned newt looks very similar and is often hard to tell apart in the field. The California newt has orange skin around the bottom of the eye and eyes that stick out past the jaw, while the rough-skinned newt has grey skin there and eyes that do not stick out. The red-bellied newt has dark irises instead of yellow, more red underneath, and a dark band across the vent.1
Poder do veleno
A súa pel é velenosa. É perigoso tocalo, lambelo ou comelo.
Que fai o seu veleno?
This animal is poisonous, not venomous, so it does not bite or sting. Its skin glands release tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin (a poison that attacks the nerves). It is hundreds of times more toxic than cyanide and is the same toxin found in pufferfish and harlequin frogs. It is strong enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans.1
Que perigoso é para as persoas?
Perigo para as persoas: Moi perigosoPode matar a unha persoa que non reciba tratamento.The toxin is strong enough to kill people. Because of their toxin, California newts have very few natural predators.1
Que fai cando ten medo?
When threatened, it performs the unken reflex: it stretches out, arches its body, and lifts its head and tail into the air to show its bright belly. It can also produce a foamy substance when exposed to high temperatures.1
Se alguén o tocou ou o comeu
- Se alguén tocou un: lava ben as mans e non toques os ollos nin a boca. Se un neno ou unha mascota lambeu ou comeu un: chama ao centro de toxicoloxía ou ao teu número de emerxencias.
Chama sempre primeiro ao teu número de emerxencias (112, 000, 911). Isto son consellos xerais de primeiros auxilios, non consello médico. Primeiros auxilios básicos
Mantente a salvo
- Nunca toques, collas nin molestes un animal salvaxe, aínda que sexa pequeno e aínda que pareza durmido ou morto.
- Déixalle espazo. Se atopas un, mantén a calma, recúa amodo e déixao ir polo seu camiño.
- Se o tocaches ou o comiches: non esfregues os ollos nin a boca, lava as mans e busca axuda médica.
Non vai a por ti. O seu veleno só está aí para que ninguén o coma. Máis sobre como estar a salvo
En que lugar do mundo?
Que tamaño ten?
Canto mide?
mide coma 6 pezas de construción de xoguete en filaQue tamaño ten California newt comparado CONTIGO?
Só son contas no teu navegador. Non se garda nin se envía nada a ningures.
Que rápido é?
Datos
Because snakes evolved resistance, newts have evolved to make far more toxin than any other predator could need, an evolutionary arms race.1
The foam the newt produces forms a protective layer that helps it keep moisture and shields it from burns during wildfires.1
Researchers believe bacteria make the tetrodotoxin, and the newts acquire it by eating those bacteria.1
Garter snakes are the most common predator, and some have developed resistance to the newt's toxin.1
Adults usually return to the same pool where they hatched to breed.1
Desmontamitos
Mito: Newts do not make any sounds.
Verdade: California newts make clicks, squeaks and whistles. Clicks are the most common, squeaks are used in defence, and whistles seem to be linked to recognising sex and to social rank.1
Para expertos en pezoñas
- Nome científico
- Taricha torosa
- Grupo
- Ras velenosas, sapos e tritóns
- Familia
- Salamandridae2
- Orde
- Caudata
- Continentes
- América do Norte
- Crías
- Females lay egg masses of between 7 and 30 eggs, attached to plant roots or rocks in small, slow-moving pools. The larvae hatch in early to midsummer, depending on water temperature.1
- Como lle vai na natureza
- California Special Concern species (DFG-CSC)1
- Perigo para as persoas
- 4 / 5: Moi perigoso3
De onde veñen os datos
- California newt (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Taricha torosa (iNaturalist): nomes e clasificación.
- Venom Wiki: o nivel de perigo, o tamaño típico e a velocidade estimada son nosos. Mira como os calculamos: Como valoramos o perigo.
Cada dato desta páxina ten un número que leva á súa fonte. Se nos equivocamos nalgo, sentímolo, somos fans dos animais, non unha revista científica. Dínolo en [email protected] e arranxarémolo.
Veleno na pel

