Postcranial myology of the California newt, Taricha torosa.

Seasonal Oxygen-Metabolism and Cutaneous Osmoregulation in California Newt, Taricha-Torosa

Kinematics of the transition between aquatic and terrestrial locomotion in the newt Taricha torosa.

California newts (Taricha torosa) are capable of locomotion in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The transition between swimming and terrestrial walking was examined by videotaping individual Taricha walking both up and down a ramp, inclined at 15 degrees to the horizontal, that had its lower end immersed in water and its upper end out of the water. When ascending the ramp, California ...

Sex-biased Predation on Newts of the Genus Taricha by a Novel Predator and its Relationship with Tetrodotoxin Toxicity

—Newts of the genus Taricha have long been studied in regards to their skin toxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX). It has been shown that the TTX levels across populations of Taricha are highly variable, and this has been mostly attributed to the interaction between Taricha and their only documented predators, garter snakes of the genus Thamnophis. Here we show that predators other than Thamnophis prey ext...

Modified Interactions between Salamander Life Stages Caused by Wildfire-induced Sedimentation

A 1993 wildfire and subsequent landslides modified many streams in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California (USA). Prior to the fire at Cold Creek Canyon, adult California newts (Taricha torosa) frequently preyed on conspecific eggs and larvae. Post-fire landslides increased the number of stream pools containing terrestrial earthworms. Earthworms were more common in adult newt diets af...

Kinematics of level terrestrial and underwater walking in the California newt, Taricha torosa.

Salamanders are acknowledged to be the closest postural model of early tetrapods and are capable of walking both in a terrestrial environment and while submerged under water. Nonetheless, locomotion in this group is poorly understood, as is underwater pedestrian locomotion in general. We, therefore, quantified the movements of the body axis and limbs of the California newt, Taricha torosa, duri...