Iberian ribbed newt

Pleurodeles waltl
True salamanders (Salamandridae)

CC-BY-SA 2.0 rights : Javier Ábalos Alvarez

A dark newt with a flat head and a granular skin. At its side, it has 7 to 10 lighter coloured warts (poisonous glands) exactly where the ribs are located. Sometimes the rib tips push through the skin.

The ribs puncturing the skin do not harm the newt, this is used as a defence mechanism, it makes the newt hard to swallow, and it has poison on its body. It feeds on invertebrates but also on small fish or even its own species

⇔ l. 15-30 cm, including the tail.

syn. Spanish ribbed newt, Sharp-ribbed newt

This is the second largest newt of Europe and is found in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It is water bound and can stay in it all year around.

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