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'Newts' are members of the Salamandridae family in which the adult form is aquatic or semi-aquatic. In some species the larva leave the water as a brightly-colored terrestrial form called an 'eft', returning to the water when mature and changing to adult colors.
They are found in North America, Europe and Asia.

Contents

Characteristics

Handling newts

Development

Distribution

Etymology

Newts in popular culture

Notes

External references

Characteristics

Newts have the ability to regenerate limbs, eyes, spinal cords, hearts, intestines, and upper and lower jaws. The cells at the site of the injury have the ability to de-differentiate, reproduce rapidly, and differentiate again to create a new limb or organ. One theory is that the de-differentiated cells are related to tumour cells since chemicals which produce tumours in other animals will produce additional limbs in newts.^[1]
Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defense mechanism against predators. ''Taricha'' newts of western North America are particularly toxic; the Rough-skinned Newt (''Taricha granulosa'') of the Pacific Northwest produces more than enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human foolish enough to swallow a newt. In order to cause harm, the toxins have to enter the body by being ingested or entering a break in the skin.

Handling newts

Theoretically it is safe to handle newts provided one thoroughly washes one's hands as newts secrete a toxin that is harmful if swallowed or if it comes into contact with mucous membranes.
Like reptiles and other amphibians, newts may carry the ''salmonella'' bacteria, and proper hand-washing and sanitation practices should be employed in handling newts.^[2][3]

Development

Newts can take several years to reach sexual maturity. Their main breeding season is between February and June. They hatch as from eggs laid in ponds or slow-moving streams. In the case of ''triturus'' brackish water is used, but most species are more picky (see image on the right). Then they undergo metamorphosis, during which they commonly leave the water, only to return to the water to live out their adult lives. During the time right after metamorphosis, many North American Newt species go through a phase called the 'eft' phase. In some cases their skin changes color, but efts always live their life on land, almost never seen in the water. Only when the eft reaches adulthood will it begin to live its life in a more aquatic fashion, and may rarely venture onto land. Many newts will live out their adulthood on land and only visit water to breed.

Distribution

The three common European genera are the crested newts (''Triturus sp.''), the European newts (''Tylotriton sp.''), the banded newts (''Ommatotriton sp.''), and some individuals such as the Spanish Ribbed Newt (''Plurodeles waltl''), the largest newt, and the Alpine newt (''Mesotriton alpestris'').
In North America, there are the Eastern newts (''Notophthalmus sp.''), of which the red-spotted newt (''Notophthalmus viridescens'') is the most abundant species, but it is limited to the area east of the Rocky Mountains. The three species of coastal, or Western newts are the red-bellied newt, the California Newt, and the rough-skinned newt, all of which belong to the genus ''Taricha'', which is confined to the area west of the Rockies.
In Southeast Asia and Japan, species commonly encountered in the pet trade include the firebelly newts (''Cynops sp.''), the paddletail newts (''Pachytriton sp.''), the crocodile newts (''Tylototriton sp.''), and the warty newts (''Paramesotriton sp.''). In the Middle East there are the Middle Eastern newts (''Neurergus sp.'').livingunderworld.com [2]; Accessed 2/5/07

Etymology

The oldest form of the name is ''eft'', which is still used for newly metamorphosed juveniles, but according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' it changed for unknown reasons first to ''euft'' and then to ''ewt''. For some time it remained as ''an ewt'', but the "n" from the indefinite article (''an'') shifted to form ''a newt''. See a and an for other examples.

Newts in popular culture

★ The P.G. Wodehouse character Gussie Fink-Nottle, a friend of Bertie Wooster, has a fascination with newts.

★ In 1936, Czech science-fiction writer Karel Čapek wrote an internationally-acclaimed novel called ''War With the Newts'' about the discovery of a species of intelligent newts in an island close to Indonesia.

★ In ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' a peasant claims that a suspected witch turned him into a newt, although admits that he "got better".

★ The witches in ''Macbeth'' include "eye of newt" along with many other ingredients in a recipe for their potion.

★ In the film ''Aliens'' the character played by Carrie Henn is nicknamed Newt.

★ In the anime film ''Spirited Away'' (''Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi''), grilled newt is a highly sought-after delicacy in the Aburaya bath house.

★ In ''The Animals of Farthing Wood'', the Newt family are among the animals who undertake the dangerous journey to White Deer Park.

★ In the Nickelodeon cartoon ''Catscratch'', the character Waffle owns many pet newts.

★ In the ''Harry Potter'' series by J.K. Rowling the students take N.E.W.T.s which are the exams for the 7th years at ''Hogwarts''. McGonagall also offers Harry "ginger newts" in book five.

★ The 6.10 version of the Linux distribution Ubuntu is codenamed "Edgy Eft".

★ In the novel ''Matilda'' by Roald Dahl, Lavender, Matilda's good friend, uses a newt to play a prank on the head teacher Miss Trunchbull.

★ In the ''Addams Family'' t.v. show, Gomez's favorite food was "eye of newt."

★ In the novel ''Lonesome Dove'' by ''Larry McMurtry'', a character is named "Newt" (played by ''Rick Schroeder'' in the TV miniseries).

Notes

1. www.bioscience.utah.edu [1]; Acessed 1/24/07
2. Salmonellosis - Reptiles and Amphibians
3. CDC MMWR: Reptile-Associated Salmonellosis --- Selected States, 1998--2002

External references

★ Caudatamedia

★ Caudata Culture

★ Eastern Newt - Notophthalmus viridescens Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide