 Range in California: Green
Red: Coast Range Newt
Dot-locality Range Map
(This is an older map. Newts in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains are now considered Coast Range Newts.)
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Terrestrial adult, Mariposa County |
Breeding adult male in aquatic phase, Butte County |
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Terrestrial Adult, Fresno County |
Defensive pose, Mariposa County |
Adult, Tuolumne County |
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Adult, Mariposa County |
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During the breeding season, adult males develop nuptial pads on the toes to improve their ability to hold onto females during amplexus. |
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| Breeding adult male (on top) with breeding adult male Rough-skinned Newt (on bottom) found in the same pool of water. |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, Fresno County |
Habitat, Butte County |
Habitat, Mariposa County |
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Habitat, Mariposa County |
Breeding pool in the forest, Butte County |
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 2 3/4 - 3 1/2 inches long (7 - 8.9 cm) from snout to vent, and 4.9 - 7.8 inches (12.5 - 20 cm) in total length. |
| Appearance |
| A stocky, medium-sized salamander with rough, grainy skin in the terrestrial phase, and no costal grooves. Breathes through lungs. Terrestrial adults are reddish-brown to dark brown above, burnt orange below, sometimes yellowish. There is less contrast between dorsal and ventral color on sides than with T. granulosa. The eyelids, the area below the eyes, and the snout are lighter than the rest of the head. The iris is silvery to pale yellow. The eyes appear to extend to or beyond the outline of the head when viewed from above, unlike T. granulosa. Breeding males develop smooth skin, a flattened tail to aid with swimming, aswollen vent, and rough nuptial pads on the undersides of the feet to aid in holding onto females during amplexus. |
| Behavior |
| Terrestrial, often seen crawling over land in the daytime, becoming aquatic when breeding. Often seen moving in large numbers to breeding sites during or after rains during the breeding season. Terrestrial newts summer in moist habitats under woody debris, or in rock crevices and animal burrows, but can sometimes be seen wandering overland in moist habitat or conditions. Potent skin secretions repel most predators. Poisonous neurotoxins widespread throughout the body can cause death in most vertebrates, including humans, if eaten in sufficient quantity. May assume a swaybacked defensive pose, exposing the bright ventral surface to warn potential predators, while holding the tail tip straight out. |
| Diet |
| Diet consists of invertebrates, worms, snails, slugs, insects, eggs, and larvae. You can watch a movie of a newt feeding here. |
| Reproduction |
| Normally, migration to breeding streams occurs in January and February. The Sierra Newt shows a strong tendency to use streams for breeding, but may use ditches and other bodies of water. Breeding has been observed from early March through May. Males arrive first, and stay longer than females. After a period of amplexus, where the male clutches the female from above, the male deposits a spermatophore and the female picks it up with her cloaca. The female lays eggs and attaches a spherical egg mass to the sides and bottoms of stones in relatively fast water. Incubation times may vary depending on the location, from 14 - 52 days. The aquatic larvae are pond type, light yellow above with two dark irregular narrow bands on the back and dark spots along the sides of the body. |
| Range |
Endemic to California. Ranges along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from northern Shasta county south to a zone of intergradation (or hybridization) with the Coast Range Newt along the Kaweah River in Tulare County.
(Formerly newts throughout the Sierra Nevada were recognized as Sierra Newts.) |
| Habitat |
| Inhabits grey pine-blue oak, and ponderosa pine communities. Better adapted to and more likely to breed in faster-flowing water than T. t. torosa. 6,500 ft. (2000 m) |
| Taxonomic Notes |
Currently, two subspecies of Taricha torosa are recognized: T. t. sierrae, and T. t. torosa.
In 2007, Shawn R. Kuchta1 determined that the two subspecies of Taricha torosa "constitute distinct evolutionary lineages and merit recognition as separate species: T. torosa (California newt) and T. sierrae (Sierra newt). " The contact zone between these two species is the southern Sierra Nevada with a "hybrid zone centered along the Kaweah River in Tulare County."
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Salamandridae |
Newts |
| Genus |
Taricha |
Pacific Newts |
| Species |
torosa |
California Newt |
Subspecies
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sierrae |
Sierra Newt |
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Original Description |
Taricha torosa - (Rathke, 1833) - in Eschscholtz, Zool. Atlas, Pt. 5, p. 12, pl. 21, fig. 15
Taricha torosa sierrae - Twitty, 1942 - Copeia, p. 65, pl. 1 and 4
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Taricha: Greek - preserved mummy, possibly referring to the rough skinned appearance.
torosa: Latin - full of muscle, fleshy.
sierrae: refers to the type locality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
California Newt
Taricha sierrae - Sierra Newt
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Related California Salamanders |
Taricha torosa torosa - Coast Range Newt
Taricha rivularis - Red-bellied Newt
Taricha granulosa - Rough-skinned Newt
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
AmphibiaWeb
Movie of a Newt Feeding
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.
Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.
1 Herpetologica, 63(3), 2007, 332–350 E 2007 by The Herpetologists’ League, Inc.
Contact Zones and Species Limits: Hybridization Between Lineages of the California Newt, Taricha torosa, in the southern Sierra Nevada
Shawn R. Kuchta
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This salamander is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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Range in California: Green 
