Taricha granulosa
Rough-skinned Newt, Roughskin Newt, Northern Rough Skin Newt, Crater Lake Newt Subgenus: Taricha | family: Salamandridae subfamily: Pleurodelinae |
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Description Taricha granulosa may be distinguished from T. torosa by the V-shaped pattern of the palatine teeth (compared to Y-shaped), dark lower eyelid, and less protruberant eyes. These species also differ in their defensive posture (see below) (Stebbins 1985). Distribution and Habitat Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Canada, United States U.S. state distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington Canadian province distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: British Columbia
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors While T. granulosa is the most toxic newt in North America, all species of Taricha possess the potent neurotoxin known as tetrodotoxin. This serves the newt as an antipredator defense, and is also harmful to humans (Brodie et al. 1974; Petranka 1998). Despite their toxicity, newts are subject to predation by racoons and garter snakes (Thamnophis.) Thamnophis sirtalis is a specialist predator on newts and has evolved resistance to the tetrodotoxin (Brodie and Brodie 1990; Petranka 1998; Motychak et al. 1999). When harassed, Taricha assume the “unken reflex” where the head is raised, the tail is turned up and held straight over the body, the limbs are extended, and the eyes are closed (Riemer 1958; Brodie 1977). This action exposes the bright aposomatic coloration found on the newt's belly. The exact pattern of this reflex is a species-specific character, distinguishable from sympatric T. torosa, which holds the tail straight, while T. granulosa curls the tip (Stebbins 1985; Petranka 1998). Trends and Threats Relation to Humans Comments This species was featured as News of the Week on 4 April 2016: The Rough-skinned Newt, Taricha granulosa, is engaged in an evolutionary arms race with its only known significant predator, the Common Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. In regions where snakes are absent (such as some islands near Vancouver Island, Canada), newt toxicity is low to absent, whereas in sites where toxicity-resistant snakes are common (various sites in California and Oregon), newt toxicity is high to very high. The authors of a new paper (Hague et al. 2016) studied newts in southeast Alaska, where snakes are absent, and as expected, toxicity levels were low at most sites examined. However, puzzling variation was found. In one lake on Wrangell Island, no toxicity was found, but newts from another lake on the same island displayed surprisingly high levels, rivaling those in some areas where snake predators have high toxin resistance. Various explanations are offered, but reciprocal selection does not fully explain the toxicity variation in newts (Written by David B. Wake). See another account at californiaherps.com.
References
Aubry, K. B., and Hall, P. A. (1991). ''Terrestrial amphibian communities in the southern Washington Cascade Range.'' Wildlife and Vegetation of Unmanaged Douglas-fir Forests, General Technical Report PNW-GTR-285. Ruggiero, L. F., Aubry, K. B., Carey, A. B., and Huff, M. H., technical coordinators, eds., USDA Forest Service, Northwest Research Station, Olympia, Washington., 326-338. Brodie, E. D., III, and Brodie, E. D., Jr. (1990). ''Tetrodotoxin resistance in garter snakes: An evolutionary response of predators to dangerous prey.'' Evolution, 44, 651-659. Brodie, E. D., Jr. (1977). "Salamander antipredator postures." Copeia, 1977, 523-535. Brodie, E. D., Jr., Hensel, J. L., and Johnson, J. A. (1974). ''Toxicity of the urodele amphibians Taricha, Notophthalmus, Cynops, and Paramesotriton (Family Salamandridae).'' Copeia, 1974(2), 506-511. Corn, P. S. and Bury, R. B. (1991). ''Terrestrial amphibian communities in the Oregon Coast Range.'' Wildlife and Vegetation of Unmanaged Douglas-fir Forests, General Technical Report PNW-GTR-285. K. Ruggiero, B. Aubry, A. B. Carey, and M. H. Huff, technical coordinators, eds., USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Olympia, Washington., 304-317. Motychak, J. E., E. D. Brodie, Jr., and E. D. Brodie, III (1999). "Evolutionary response of predators to dangerous prey: Preadaptation and the evolution of tetrodotoxin resistance in garter snakes." Evolution, 53, 1528-1535. Nussbaum, R. A., and Brodie, E. D., Jr. (1981). ''Taricha granulosa (Skilton). Rough-skinned Newt.'' Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 272.1-272.4. Petranka, J. W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London. Riemer, W. J. (1958). "Variation and systematic relationships within the salamander genus Taricha." University of California Publications in Zoology, 56(3), 301-390. Stebbins, R. C. (1985). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Stebbins, R.C. (1951). Amphibians of Western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley. Written by Meredith J. Mahoney (molge AT yahoo.com), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley First submitted 2000-07-28 Edited by M. J. Mahoney, Kevin Gin (12/03); updated by Ann T. Chang (2019-01-08) Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2019 Taricha granulosa: Rough-skinned Newt <http://amphibiaweb.org/species/4288> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 6, 2019.
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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2019. <http://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 6 Dec 2019. AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use. |