Every winter I scan the creeks for newts, my favourite amphibians. Last weekend at SciCon I saw a whole bunch of babies, 5-8cm long. It was like winning the lottery.
Taricha torosa
Tag: newt
Taricha torosa
The highlight of my weekend was getting to hold a California newt, possibly the cutest amphibian I have ever seen. The skin glands of Taricha torosa secrete a powerful neurotoxin that is hundreds of times more lethal than cyanide. It is potent enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans. For this reason, I have never touched one; but our newt expert said it was fine unless we had a wound on our hands. He told a story about licking a newt once long ago; the moral of the story was that we should not try the same experiment. I held this little lady for a long time (then washed my hands). Such a thrill.
cute newt
I was sooo excited to see this little guy down in Cold Creek; first time I’ve seen one in the wild. All credit goes to Annette for spotting it first.
hashiworks 