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Newts are little semi - aquatic amphibians that bet like a cross between a frog and a lizard . Newts have several interesting characteristics . For example , though they may look cute and harmless , they can be dangerous ; toxin secreted through the peel as a defense mechanism could kill a person . Newts also can regrow lost limbs and organs . That power make them important subjects in medical studies on regeneration . Also , some newts have flown on distance mission .
Newts vs. salamanders
Newts are member of the Salamandridae mob , and there are over 60 species . All newts are salamanders , but not all salamander are newts . Thedifferences between newts and salamandersare few , accord to Caudata Culture , a website for newt and salamander enthusiast . Generally , with some exception , newts spend more of their grownup lives in the water supply than salamanders . Also , there are more distinctive difference between the sexes in newts .
The primary distinction between salamander and newts is how they are classify . Newts belong to the generaCynops , Echinotriton , Euproctus , Neurergus , Notophthalmus , Pachytriton , Paramesotriton , Pleurodeles , Taricha , TriturusorTylototriton . " on-key salamanders " belong to toChioglossa , Mertensiella , andSalamandra , accord to the Animal Diversity WWW ( ADW ) .
Size
Newts have lizard - shaped bodies with four leg and long posterior . Most have bland and moist skin , though some species , such as harsh - skinned newts have , as one might expect , jolty , grainy peel . Most specie have well - developed lungs , while some hold gills and are entirely aquatic .
With so many mintage , newts come in many different sizes . They are typically humble than 8 inches ( 20 centimeter ) , harmonize toEncyclopedia Britannica . For example , the warty newt develop to 7 column inch ( 18 cm ) and librate 0.22 to 0.37 oz. ( 6.3 to 10.6 gramme ) .
Habitat
Newts can be find all over the Northern Hemisphere in North America , Europe , Asia and north Africa . Some populate on land while others live almost exclusively in water . For exemplar , the alligator newt exist on the southern islands of Japan in swamp , woods , grasslands and croplands . The eastern ruby-red - spotted triton is found in eastern North America in ponds , lake and Ngaio Marsh .
Habits
Many newts are dynamic during the day while others are active during the night . All of them expend most of their time run for food for thought or lounge in a cool area in the shade .
Their mating rite is specially interesting . When matte season get , the male secretes a strong pheromone to attract a female . Then , it does a little dance by swing its tail in the melodic phrase . The pheromone make for so well that when a male is n’t around , female will try out to checkmate with each other , according to a 2013 study by the Free University of Brussels . [ Newt Pheromones Put Females into Mating Frenzy ]
Eye of newt
Newts can revitalize full functional limbs , organs and tissues , let in heart muscle , components of its nervous system and the lense of its eye , according to an clause in the journal Nature . investigator hope the power is base on a common genetical trait and is found , even in latent chassis , in all animals . Studies indicate , however , it may not be that simple because of the enormous size of the newt genome , which is 10 times larger than the human genome .
Toxic touch
Many newts trust on their tegument color — dark-green , black or brown — to camouflage them and escape the notice of predatory animal . Others are marked with bright monition colors to suggest they are toxic and would not make a good repast , according to Caudata Culture .
These newts release a mucous secretion that is quite toxic . A 1966 study publish in the daybook Toxicon found that at least 10 species had content called tarichatoxin and tetrodotoxin . Tetrodotoxin , or TTX , is themost venomous nonprotein substanceknown to scientist and is similar to that found in blowfish , according to Caudata Culture . It is a hefty neurolysin that block signals from the aflutter system to the muscles , so for good example , it blocks the signal from your encephalon that tell your heart to beat .
The study find that the skin of a rocky - skinned triton is poisonous enough topotentially kill 25,000 mice . The study also abduce a case that involved a man in Oregon who swallow a triton on a dare ( he had been drink intemperately ) . After a few minutes , his lips began to tingle . Over the next two hour he began to feel numb and watery and then receive cardiopulmonary arrest . after that mean solar day , he died , despite hospital treatment .
An Eastern red-spotted newt.
In another study , published in 1974 in the daybook Copeia , newt toxin entered a puncture wound on a scientist ’s index finger , and he suffered 30 second of numbness up the arm into the shoulder , and some accompanying nausea and light - headedness .
Some newts add insult to injury . Besides secreting the toxin , the Spanish ribbed newt andalligator newtpush their ribs through their skin to pierce their dupe , make trusted the poison enters the assaulter ’s dead body .
Diet
Newts are carnivore . They eat slugs , insect , minor invertebrates , amphibian eggs and insects on land . Tadpoles , shrimp , aquatic louse , worm larvae and mollusks are on the carte du jour in the water . Baby newts , call larva , can feed themselves small shrimp and worm larvae they rule while swimming around .
Offspring
Most newts lay ballock , and one female can lie hundred of eggs . For representative , the warty newt can lie 200 to 300 eggs , according toNational Geographic . However , theylay them one at a timeand attach them to aquatic plant life , accord to A - Z animal . Frogs , on the other hand , lay their eggs in clumps that drift tight to the surface of the water . A few newt specie lie their eggs on farming .
Newt babies , called tadpoles , resemble baby fish with feather international gills . Much like toad , newts germinate into their adult form . Some go from egg to larva to adult , while others germinate from egg to larva to juvenile to grownup .
Classification/taxonomy
Here is the systematic info for newts , according to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information System(ITIS ):
realm : AnimaliaSubkingdom : BilateriaInfrakingdom : DeuterostomiaPhylum : ChordataSubphylum : VertebrataInfraphylum : GnathostomataSuperclass : TetrapodaClass : AmphibiaOrder : CaudataFamily : SalamandridaeGenera :
Conservation status
The preservation position of newts range from least concern to critically endangered , according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature . Critically endangered species includeEchinotriton chinhaiensis(Chinhai bristly newt ) , with a population of around 300 mature individuals , andNeurergus microspilotus(Kurdistan triton ) . The universe decreases are due to hunting , habitat expiration and the best-loved trade .
Astronewts in space
Two blank space missions in 1994 and 1995 studiedembryonic growing of Nipponese red - belly triton . fit in to the discipline , print in Biological Science in Space , female " astronewts " were induced to lay eggs in orbit . The eggs were discover to the space environment , such as low gravity , aboard a SpaceLab mission . After the embryos were retrieved , morphology had not deviate from those developed on the ground . However , diseased modification were chance upon in several organs of the adult triton that returned alive .
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A male alpine newt.
Strauch’s spotted newt.
A crocodile newt.
