California

Coast Range Newt

Taricha tarosa tarosa

During the non-breeding season in California, the newt can be found on land, hiding under rocks, logs, and in crevices. During the breeding season, the newt takes to the water to live in slow moving pools and coastal streams. The glands on the skin of the newt produce a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin. This is the same toxin found in pufferfish and is 100 times more toxic than cyanide. The toxin is only harmful if ingested, so the newt has few natural predators. The common Garter Snake, however, in a prime example of an "evolutionary arms race," has developed a resistance to tetrodotoxin and regularly dines on newts.

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