Newts

Within the group of amphibians is a rather curious animal that spends most of its life in the water. Its about triton. It is a class of amphibians that can regenerate his body after taking damage both in accidents and in fights. It is one of the characteristics that they share with salamanders, since they belong to the same family known as Salamandridae. The newt belongs to the order Caudata and the genus Triturus.

Here we tell you all the characteristics, habitat, feeding and reproduction of the newt.

What characteristics does the newt have?

They are animals of a small size. Currently 8 species of newts are known. The area of ​​distribution is divided between the areas of Europe, Asia and America. They are cold-blooded animals, so they need to regulate their temperature with the ecosystem. During the winter they need to hide in dark places and they mate during the spring, when the temperatures are higher.

One of the reasons in which you can tell if the newt feels threatened is that they raise their head and part of their body to show their lower area. The colors of this animal are intensified in the lower part since it is where the poisonous substances with which they are able to defend themselves are found.

They are specimens that usually measure an average of 18 centimeters long, with the females being larger than the males. Its shape is elongated from the head to the tail. It has 4 short limbs and bulging eyes. One of the characteristics for which the morphology of these living beings stands out is that their body length is proportional to that of their tail.

The skin has different colors depending on the species. The most normal thing is that they are colors between brown and greenish with some dark spots. This coloration is more abundant because they use it as camouflage to hide in the dirt and leaves. In this way, they manage to protect themselves from any predator that tries to hunt them. Its belly has more vibrant tones ranging from yellow to orange and It is due to the amount of toxic substances they possess. This is a way they have to warn their opponents of the power they can have in any fight.

As with other amphibians, the newt breathes through its skin and sheds twice a year. As with other amphibians such as the salamander, they are capable of regenerating part of their body when they have been mutilated. This feature is so amazing that even its eyes and heart can reform in case of mutilation.

Through the skin, these animals expel toxins from areas that can be defended from any enemy species. One of the problems for which these animals They are not too fierce, it is that these toxic substances do not take effect if they are not ingested. With just the touch of the skin it is a harmless substance.

Its tail is flat like the shape of its head. He does not have highly developed senses of sight and hearing. It is known that they suffer from myopia and this handicap is accentuated when they are out of the water.

Habitat and diet of the newt

The main habitat of these animals are puddles and areas where the earth is very humid. When they are young and in the larval stage, they live in the water. They are capable of living in lagoons, streams, shallow ponds and some wells. When they reach maturity, they look for swamps and slopes where the soil temperature is around 12 degrees and they can have enough space to walk and climb branches. It needs these branches to be able to feed itself.

The newt's diet is based on insects and other types of animals that can hunt, bite and digest. When they have been able to obtain any prey, they choose to eat their own pups or other adult newts that they manage to treat quickly. Normally their diet is based mainly on worms, eggs of other insects, larvae, centipedes, crustaceans, arachnids and annelids. In order to hunt these animals, they pounce on them to be able to bite them. Sometimes, they use their poison to defend themselves.

newt reproduction

The breeding season takes place in spring.. It's time to go out and join sixth place as the temperatures are much more pleasant. Throughout the winter they come to hibernate and, when they give us the increase in temperatures together with the development of the flowers, they help to concentrate the puddles. Are these puddles where they make their respective demonstration of virility to terminate courtship and subsequent mating.

During this mating season, newts have the brightest skin. Their lips swell and the female beings inflate their bellies. After courtship and display by the male, it joins the female to leave the spermatophore. She herself can introduce them while in the water. The female can receive sperm from several newts at the same time since there is no direct physical contact.

After mating, the female is in charge of looking for plants where she can have part of the land and water where she can lay her eggs and keep them moist. She drops one on each leaf of the plant and folds the leaf over so she can protect them. When a short time passes, the eggs hatch and the larvae hatch from there. In the early days, the tadpoles are just small heads with two lines called rockers that help establish their balance while swimming. When these lines grow they disappear.

The life cycle and sexual maturity vary between each species of newt. Regarding their behavior, we see that they are quite intelligent animals and can easily defend themselves from their predators. These predators are mainly fish, frogs, toads, and snakes.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the newt.