When breeding season comes around, the male crested newt turns from an ordinary aquatic animal to a dragon-like creature. It grows a frilled crest on its back and sports a stripe on its tail. All year 'round, this amphibian is a fierce, deadly hunter. It also produces a toxic chemical in its skin that discourages predators from taking a bite.
Fresh Crest: This species is named for the jagged crest that sprouts from the male's back and tail near the beginning of spring. The crest attracts females, and disappears as soon as breeding season is over.
Silverback: The crested newt is powered by its fat tail when chasing prey through water. During the spring breeding season, the male develops a bright silver stripe on his tail, which draws females toward it in droves.
Warts and All[]
An extremely strong swimmer, the crested newt's tail is almost equal in length to its body.
The crested newt proves that warts can be beautiful. They help the newt survive. The warts that cover its body, which are often bright white, secrete mucous that keeps its skin moist when on land. This amphibian's skin also produces another kind of secretion when the newt is in danger- a mild toxin that makes it taste terrible, forcing predators to spit it out. The crested newt's belly is bright red, which is a sign to enemies that they don't want to eat it.
Eye of Newt: Crested newts hunt well both in water and on land. Sharp eyesight helps the creature spot slow-moving prey from a distance so it can run up and shove the victim in its mouth.
First Breath: Newts are born with gills, so they have to stay in the water until their lungs develop. When a young crested newt becomes an adult and swims to the surface, a "pop" can be heard as air rushes into its lungs for the first time.
Cannibal Cousins[]
- Hiding among some aquatic plants, an adult crested newt sees a younger member of its own species swimming by. Eager to eat anything, the adult newt catches the young one.
- The predator grabs the young newt with its jaws and shakes its victim in an attempt to disorient it and drain it of energy so it can no longer struggle.
- Once the young newt stops trying to escape, the older member of the species opens its toothless mouth wide and begins to swallow its prey, head-first and whole.
Trivia[]
- The crested newt is featured in It's All Relative! on Monster Mania 41.