Скачать или смотреть Orangebug salamander

The California newt (Taricha torosa) is a newt. It is also referred to as the Oregon newt or orange bellied newt. They can grow to be 8 inches (20 cm) in length, which is larger than most salamanders.
T. torosa adult length can range from 5 inches (13 cm) to 8 inches (20 cm). [1]
The difference between these two seems to be only in the location in which the newt is found.
California newts exist primarily on the California coastline and in the Sierra Nevada. This is because they prefer less humid climates than the rough skinned newts. During the non-breeding season the newts are land dwelling, preferring rock crevices and logs. While breeding, the subspecies torosa torosa prefers slow moving pools in coastal streams.
Reproduction occurs generally between December and early May. Typically the adult newts will return to the pool in which they hatched. After a mating dance, the male mounts the female and rubs his chin on her nose. He then attaches a spermatophore to the substrate, which she will retrieve into her cloaca.
The egg mass released by the female contains between 7 and 30 eggs, and is roughly the consistency of a thick gelatin dessert. Typically the egg masses are attached to stream plant roots or to rocky crevices in small, slow moving pools. But they have also been known to be attached to underwater rocks or leaf debris. While shallow in a wide sense, these pools are rather deep relative to the average depth of a Southern California stream, varying in depth from about 1 to 2 meters.
Adult newts will stay in the pools throughout the breeding season, and can be occasionally found well into the summer. Larvae hatch sometime in early to mid summer, depending on local water temperature. Larvae are difficult to find in streams as they blend in well with the sandy bottom, which they usually stay close to.
Like other Taricha members, the glands in the skin of T. torosa secrete the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, which is hundreds of times more toxic than cyanide. This is the same toxin found in pufferfish and harlequin frogs. Researchers believe that bacteria synthesize tetrodotoxin and the animals that employ the neurotoxin acquire it through consumption of these bacteria. This neurotoxin is so strong that it is enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans. However, they are dangerous only if ingested, and can be safely kept as pets.
Due to their toxicity, the California newt has few natural predators. Garter snakes are the most common, and some species have developed a genetic resistance to tetrodotoxin.
Diet: Earthworms, snails, slugs, sowbugs, bloodworms, mosquito larvae and other invertebrates are among the California newt's prey. In the Sierras, the newt will also consume trout eggs. In an aquarium habitat, the newt may eat goldfish flake food.