Scientific Name: Taricha torosa
Other Common Names: Pacific Coast Newt, Western Newt
Total Length: 5-7.75 inches
Range: Coastal and Sierra Nevada ranges of California
Habitat: They may be found in streams, lakes, ponds, and surrounding coniferous and deciduous forests. They are often found on land under rocks and logs.
Sex Determination: The males’ skin become smooth during the mating season. They also develop a swollen cloacal region, blackish horny toe tips, and a large tail fin.
Reproduction: California Newts return to their home ponds in the winter and spring to breed. The males arrive first at the pond, swimming around until a female arrives. Males remain in the majority because females are capable of breeding only every two or three years.
During mating, the male grasps the female from above and begins to mate. Like all other western newts, fertilization takes place inside the body.
When the time comes to deposit her eggs, the female moves into shallow water along the edge of the pond. She lays 7-29 eggs individually or in clumps to a suitable substrate and immediately returns to terrestrial life. Males remain in the water for quite some time after spawning.
The eggs are round, about 1/8 inch in diameter, and has two colors. The upper half is a light brown; the lower part is white. The eggs hatch in one to two months.
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Metamorphosis: As the newt inside the egg begins to grow, the egg grows longer in length. This is the first sign of development. At the end of two or three weeks, the outline of the baby newt is visable and in four to six weeks the newt is ready to break out of it’s egg.
The larvae metamorphose in the fall or the following spring at the size of three inches. Its forelegs appear at the time of hatching, and its hindlegs appear shortly after that. The young newt has a set of feathery gills, which it uses to breath. Before it leaves the water, the gills are absorbed. Now it must rise to the surface regularly in order to breath. A young California Newt does not look like the adults. It is striped, with black dots.
Keep the baby newts in water for their first year and put them on land for their second and third year. After that, alternate periods on land and in water.
Care In Captivity:
Other Information: When they are bothered, California Newts sometime arch their bodies and raise their head and tail to display their bright colors on their bellies as a warning to try and scare you away.
They spend about one year in the water after hatching then stay on land for the next two years. When they are living on land, their skin is usually rough and warty. In the water their skin is much smoother. Once they take to the water, they develop swimming fins on both the top and bottom of their tail.
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