#Taricha torosa

[blackmudpuppy]

Taricha snuggles

[bluebelly-sun-serpentine]

A red-bellied newt (taricha torosa) and some domestic cattle (bos taurus) in this last winter's Briones hills. The latin terms torus (from which the newt gets its second name) and taurus (for the cow) are not etymologically linked, but since these folks live in such close company the coincidence struck me. This native newt is part of a struggling population. They come to breed in a muddy ancestral pond full of e.coli and other gut-colonizing creatures evacuated by big, placid cows. I like the cows themselves, and my eye is always drawn to the terraces they graze into the hills, but I love these little pebbled, slimy people too, and want them to do well. In other places they cross roads and paths to breed in streams and ponds, and many are killed by motorists. One nearby road closes for newt season, and I always wonder why that road can't just always be closed - it's a better place for everyone then; people go for longer walks, and other critters feel safer crossing the road too.

[aboundingabundance]

Omfg it’s a taricha granulosa! Or maybe a taricha torosa.

Via TheFlyGuy

[imperialslaughterbot]

2.5 month old Poecilia reticulata x 2 mature Taricha torosa cohabitation

Minute 30 Poecilia reticulata behaving normally. Newts mildly interested but not determined to eat.

Day 2 : beest friebds

Day idk : they ate him

[orca-in-disguise]

Critter fact #24:

The Orange-bellied Newt, Taricha torosa, is endemic to California. Hence, it is also known as the California Newt.

[herpsandbirds]

Trick or treat?!

HAVE SOME EYE OF NEWT... STILL ATTACHED TO THE NEWT...

California Newt aka Orange-bellied Newt (Taricha torosa), family Salamandridae, Napa county, CA, USA.

Poisonous.

photograph by Connor Long

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Pacific newts

The four newts of the genus Taricha — the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa), the red-bellied newt (Taricha rivularis), the Sierra newt (Taricha sierrae) and the California newt (Taricha torosa) — all found along the Pacific coast of North America, are small but deadly. Species in this genus contain tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that blocks signals between nerve cells. 

(Image credit: Connor Long (CC-BY 3.0))

[wikimediauncommons]

file: Coast Range Newt, Taricha torosa torosa - Flickr - GregTheBusker (2).jpg

[fenthebonebreaker]

Inktober #14 Newt

California Newt (Taricha torosa)

[snototter]

a California newt (Taricha torosa) in Yolo County, California, USA

by Team Kweeper

[lovingexotics]

California Newt Taricha torosa Source: Here

[bronzejarfly]

So I’m out hiking in the rain like I do and I check around this dry pond to see if any newts are hanging out and I walk around a tree and there’s this asshole just sitting there on the trunk like he was fucking waiting for someone to come and photograph him. Look at this little fucker. The poise. The sheen. The solemn gaze that brings to mind Michelangelo’s David. Effortlessly rocking that mildly unkempt look with those flecks of dirt sticking to him. Not to mention the raw strength imbued in those bulging forelimbs. And tHAT TAIL. Jesus.

I will never in my life look as good as this fucking newt.

[cowbagclover]

Taricha torosa, the California newt! My husband and I saw 41 of these on the trail yesterday—an all-time record for us. https://hilltromper.com/article/california-newt has lots of cool information, including the effects of the neurotoxin the newt produces. This cutie can kill you! Bwa ha ha

[noneun]

Questo simpatico amorino è un tritone della california (Taricha torosa), un anfibio che rilascia dalla pelle la tetradotossina, una letale neurotossina 100 volte più tossica del cianuro di potassio, famosa per essere presente anche nel pesce palla, e capace di uccidere una persona con una dose di soli 25 milligrammi.

Cazzuto l'amorino.

[herpsandbirds]

I've noticed in a couple different European newts the males have a crested breeding form

Are there any North American newts with similar sexual dimorphism?

North American Newts:

Our North American species really don't get anything quite so elaborate in the breeding season. Our newts in the genus Notophthalmus, do get darker/more distinct or brighter spots and other markings, as well as a more pronounced fin-like tail.

Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), male in breeding form, family Salamandridae, Fairfax county, VA, USA

photograph by John White

The Taricha newts of the western US also get larger fin/paddle like tails during the breeding season...

California Newts (Taricha torosa) mating, family Salamandridae, CA, USA

photograph by Gary Naphis

[jcollinsfiction]

Last Nature Walk of 2019

Last Nature Walk of 2019

My sister and I managed to fit in a nice little hike at Foothills Park before she had to catch her flight. It’s possible that I’ll get a little more hiking done before the end of the year, but this was definitely a very nice walk to cap off the decade with. We met a surprising number of cute critters, and even saw a bobcat, although he was too far away to photograph.

Arboreal salamander. These…