Last updated: March 7, 2014
Throughout most of the year, these newts are terrestrial, with thick warty skin and live underground or in damp places under rocks and logs. While in the pools, the newt's body changes into an aquatic phase, which results in smoother skin and a fin-like tail to assist with swimming. The males also develop rough pads on their feet. Why is this necessary? Well, the males have been patrolling the pools for weeks by the time the females show up and are eager to claim each as their own. The rough pads will enable them to grip the females better. Wiggling balls of wrestling newts can be seen as each female is surrounded by many males trying to get into position. After a male successfully grasps a female and swims away with her, he will deposit a spermatophore, which she carries to a suitable spot to fertilize and lay her eggs. Each spherical egg mass contains between 7 and 30 eggs and is attached to submerged vegetation or other underwater objects.
All this activity seems like it would draw a lot of attention, but the newts have an evolutionary trick that keeps them safe from predators. The bright orange color underneath is a signal that they are poisonous! Their skin contains glands that produce a potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, which causes seizures that paralyze the heart and lungs. When the newt feels threatened, it will arch its back showing the bright color underneath its chin and tail. This signal deters many predators. Garter snakes (Genus Thamnophis), however, eat plenty of newts. They have preyed upon newts for so long; they have evolved a resistance to the toxin. This is a great example of coevolution between predator and prey, the newts and the garter snakes. Humans are sensitive to this toxin, which can be absorbed through mucus membranes and open cuts, so please do not handle newts.
A video of the action, including a female laying eggs is available on YouTube.
Beautiful
W moim domu w piwnicy żyją traszki.Sa małe,mają jaskrawo pomarańczowy brzuszek.Urocze,kazdej wiosny czekam aż sie pojawią.
I used to find them in the creek at Briceburg at the Merced River 1970's
Used to play with newts too as a kid. And they made a hellatiouse bait for brook trout.
Good grief! Had no idea these were poisonous. As a kid (60 years ago)we played with these cute little critters a lot. Had the heck did I manage to get old? Good info.
I have friends that brought a California newt to Quincy when they moved here in 1974, I believe. They had the newt for 2 years before moving here. The newt is still alive and thriving on red worms in a terrarium. that makes it at least 42 to 43 years old. I was not aware that they lived that long in captivity.
I heard that these salamander are bisexual, and males are not always male, females not always female. They can do both. Is this true?
Every living being has to fight to establish itself, and only the best there is. as in many aspects of life the best has the ability to create strong and healthy individuals over time to allow the evolution of the species.
Thank you for this info. I grew up watching red efts mate back in NY state. I think you will appreciate this comic summary as well: http://birdandmoon.com/newtdate.html
Thank you for being so responsive and posting the video. I will show it to my Terrestrial Vertebrate Ecology students
@Anna, we're having technical problems displaying the video on our website, but have now provided a link to the video on YouTube. (This is a longer version of the video than appeared on Facebook.)
please bring the video back! It was great!
Taricha torosa are moving in SoCal after the rains. In the 60's, a fraternity had their pledges swallow newts as part of their initiation. Severl of the members died. Shame they didn't have a good herpetologist in the group!
@Alice, we've updated the blog to reflect the new species name. Thanks for the correction!
Thanks for pointing this out! Looks like we all need to update our field guides. Indeed, Taricha torosa and Taricha sierrae were recognized as separate species in 2007.
Love the Taricha genus. Interestingly, the Sierra Newt has been split off from Taricha torosa after it was discovered that at the southern part of the range, the newts were coast range newts with a very thin contact zone with Sierra newts. In that contact zone, hybridization was rare and when it occurred, nature selected against the hybrids. Thus, the sierra and coast range subspecies despite a contact zone are on different evolutionary paths and are distinct species. The Sierra Newt is now Taricha sierrae I'm still hoping to find some up here in Shasta County, the northern-most part of their recorded range, but so far just rough-skinned (Taricha granulosa)
Miss these guys so much! One of my favorite things about living in El Portal.
She turned me into a newt!.....I got better
Amphibians are sensitive to changes in their environment. Worldwide, all amphibians are suffering population declines. The California newt, which is endemic to California, is declining mostly in Southern California. The primary drivers of this decline are habitat destruction caused by human activity and invasive species such as mosquitofish, crayfish, and bullfrogs which will prey on larvae and eggs.
Are these amphibians facing the same population declines as many frog species?
Yes, they belong to family "Salamandridae"
Interesting , are they related to the salamanders ?