Newt

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Newt
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent[1]
Alpine newt
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Subfamily: Pleurodelinae
Genera

14–17

extant and six fossil
genera, see text

A newt is a

metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard
-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.

Newts are threatened by

extinct
recently.

Etymology

Two grey newts, taken from the front, under water, presumably in an aquarium
Pleurodeles, including the Iberian ribbed newt, is the type genus of subfamily Pleurodelinae.

The Old English name of the animal was efte, efeta (of unknown origin), resulting in Middle English eft; this word was transformed irregularly into euft, evete, or ewt(e). The initial "n" was added from the indefinite article "an" by provection (juncture loss) ("an eft" → "a n'eft" → ...) by the early 15th century.[2] The form "newt" appears to have arisen as a dialectal variant of eft in Staffordshire, but entered Standard English by the Early Modern period (used by Shakespeare in Macbeth iv.1).[3] The regular form eft, now only used for newly metamorphosed specimens, survived alongside newt, especially in composition, the larva being called "water-eft" and the mature form "land-eft" well into the 18th century, but the simplex "eft" as equivalent to "water-eft" has been in use since at least the 17th century.[4]

Dialectal English and Scots also has the word

Stellagama. Ancient Greek had the name κορδύλος, presumably for the water newt (immature newt, eft).[7] German has Molch, from Middle High German mol, wikt:olm
, like the English term of unknown etymology.

Newts are also known as Tritones (viz., named for the mythological Triton) in historical literature, and "triton" remains in use as common name in some Romance languages, such as Spanish and Romanian, but as well as in Greek, Russian, and Bulgarian. The systematic name Tritones was introduced alongside Pleurodelinae by Tschudi in 1838, based on the type genus named Triton by Laurenti in 1768. Laurenti's Triton was renamed to Triturus ("Triton-tail") by Rafinesque in 1815.[8] Tschudi's Pleurodelinae is based on the type genus Pleurodeles (ribbed newt) named by Michahelles in 1830 (the name meaning "having prominent ribs," formed from πλευρά "ribs" and δῆλος "conspicuous"). Collective nouns for newts are flotilla and armada.

Distribution and habitats

A brown newt under water, on gravel
The Pyrenean brook newt lives in small streams in the Pyrenees mountains.

Newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. The Pacific newts (Taricha) and the Eastern newts (Notophthalmus) with together seven species are the only representatives in North America, while most diversity is found in the Old World: In Europe and the Middle East, the group's likely origin, eight genera with roughly 30 species are found, with the ribbed newts (Pleurodeles) extending to northernmost Africa. Eastern Asia, from Eastern India over Indochina to Japan, is home to five genera with more than 40 species.[citation needed]

Newts are semiaquatic, spending part of the year in the water for reproduction and the rest of the year on land. While most species prefer stagnant water bodies such as ponds, ditches, or flooded meadows for reproduction, some species such as the Danube crested newt can also occur in slow-flowing rivers. The European brook newts (Calotriton) and European mountain newts (Euproctus) have even adapted to life in cold, oxygen-rich mountain streams. During their terrestrial phase, newts live in humid habitats with abundant cover such as logs, rocks, or earth holes.[citation needed]

Strikingly red eft on a rocky underground
Green newt with red spots under water
The eastern newt as terrestrial eft (left) and as an adult during aquatic breeding season (right)

Characteristics

Newts share many of the characteristics of their salamander kin,

tumor cells, since chemicals that produce tumors in other animals will produce additional limbs in newts.[10]

Development

The main breeding season for newts (in the Northern Hemisphere) is in June and July. A single newt female can produce hundreds of eggs. For instance, the warty newt can produce 200–300 eggs (Bradford 2017). After courtship rituals of varying complexity, which take place in ponds or slow-moving streams, the male newt transfers a

larvae, which resemble fish fry but are distinguished by their feathery external gills, hatch out in about three weeks. After hatching, they eat algae, small invertebrates, or other amphibian larvae.[citation needed
]

During the subsequent few months, the larvae undergo

metamorphosis, during which they develop legs, and the gills are absorbed and replaced by air-breathing lungs.[11] Some species, such as the North American newts, also become more brightly colored during this phase. Once fully metamorphosed, they leave the water and live a terrestrial life, when they are known as "efts."[12][13] Only when the eft reaches adulthood will the North American species return to live in water, rarely venturing back onto the land. Conversely, most European species live their adult lives on land and only visit water to breed.[14]

A transparent egg with a white embryo on the leaf of an aquatic plant
Embryo in jelly capsule
A newt larva with gills and forelimbs, but no hindlimbs developed
Young larva
A dark-coloured larva with all limbs developed but gills still apparent
Larva shortly before metamorphosis
A small, black newt without gills or crest on moss
Terrestrial juvenile
Newts lay their eggs on structures such as plants or stones under water. The larvae first develop fore- and later hindlimbs, and are strictly carnivorous. After metamorphosis, juveniles known as efts emerge from the water and live a terrestrial lifestyle.

Toxicity

The Pacific newts (Taricha), including the California newt, are known for their toxicity.

Many newts produce

garter snakes, some having developed a resistance to the toxin. Most newts can be safely handled, provided the toxins they produce are not ingested or allowed to come in contact with mucous membranes or breaks in the skin.[15]

Systematics

Newts form one of three

extant species in the family, roughly 100, which are classified in sixteen genera:[17]

Hypselotriton and Liangshantriton are regarded as separate genera by some authors, but this is not unanimous.[17]

The term "newt" has traditionally been seen as an exclusively functional term for salamanders living in water, and not a

mole salamanders, the Proteidae, or the Sirenidae
.

Classification of all genera of the Pleurodelinae subfamily after Pyron and Weins,[16] revised by Mikko Haaramo.

Pleurodelinae

Phylogenetics

Phylogenetic analyses estimated the origin of the newt subfamily in the

fossil salamanders have also been referred to the Pleurodelinae, including:[18]

Anatomy and physiology

Circulation

The heart of newts, like that of most amphibians, consists of two atria and one ventricle.

epicardial layer that protrudes to allow the new vessels to form, and conclude with a regeneration of the entire myocardial wall.[19]

In early stages of development in amphibians, ventilator gas transport and hemoglobin gas transport are independent mechanisms and not yet coupled as they are in adulthood.[20] In juvenile amphibians, there is no cardiovascular response in conditions of hypoxia.[20] When newts are induced into anemia, they are able to respire without the need of blood cells.[21] In T. carnifex, around two weeks after anemia is induced, the newts produced a mass of cells that helps to revitalize the already circulating red blood cell mass.[21]

Respiration

Adult crested newts (Triturus cristus) were found to breathe mainly via the skin but also through the lungs and the

buccal cavity. Lung breathing is mainly used when there is a lack of oxygen in the water, or at high activity such as during courtship, breeding, or feeding.[22]

A form of

erythrocytes when needed, for example under hypoxia.[23][24] Spleen size can increase as the temperature declines for adults – in larvae, there is no dramatic change in spleen size.[25] During hibernation, an increase in liver pigment cells allows for storage of oxygen, as well as other important ions and free radicals.[26]

Osmoregulation

In experiments, dehydrated eastern newts were prone to a loss of motor control: After only 22% water weight loss, newts in the aquatic phase lost their ability to remain upright and mobile. However, after adaptation to a terrestrial phase, they could lose 30% before a loss of motor control was recorded. Newts in the terrestrial phase were found to dehydrate much quicker than newts in the aquatic phase, but conversely, during rehydration, dehydrated terrestrial animals will go through water gain 5x faster than dehydrated newts that are in the aquatic phase.[27]

In the Italian crested newt, it was shown that during winter months, prolactin is released into the circulatory system, which drives the newts into the aquatic environment and reduces the active transport of sodium ions.[28] In contrast to prolactin, which decreases osmotic permeability, vasotocin increases the permeability and is secreted during the summer months.[29] Arginine vasotocin not only increases cutaneous water permeability, but promotes increased cutaneous blood flow.[30]

Thermoregulation

Thermoregulation, in combination with seasonal

ectotherms cope with the changing temperatures existing in their environments. This regulation is most often achieved through behavioral thermoregulation.[31] They are thermoconformers, which means they will acclimate to their surrounding environmental temperatures.[31] When there is a large range of environmental temperatures, newts are insensitive to a thermal gradient profile.[32]

To escape predators, newt larvae have been found to shift their

microhabitat to a temperature range that exists outside the predator's preferred temperature range.[33] Larvae that are in the metamorphosizing stage tend to prefer warmer temperatures than those in the stage following metamorphosis.[33] Therefore, the larvae in this stage will undergo a much more precise thermoregulation process than those in the intermediate stage.[33]

Reproductive females of the Italian crested newt were shown to regulate their body temperature more precisely and prefer higher temperatures than non-reproductive females and males.[34]

Spermatogenesis

The newt is regarded as an ideal vertebrate model for investigating the mechanism(s) controlling the transition from mitosis to meiosis during spermatogenesis.[35] In the male newt Cynopa pyrrhogaster, this transition was shown to involve expression of PCNA, a DNA polymerase delta auxiliary protein involved in DNA replication and DNA repair, as well as DMC1 protein, a marker for genetic recombination activity.[35]

Susceptibility to pollution

Larvae, with their great number of lamellae in their gills,[36] are more susceptible to pollutants than adults. Cadmium, a heavy metal released into the environment from industrial and consumer waste, has been shown to be detrimental to the Italian crested newt even at a concentrations below Italian and European thresholds, by disrupting the activity of the adrenal gland.[37] In experiments allowing Italian crested newts to be exposed to nonylphenol, an endocrine disruptor common in leakage from sewers, there was a decrease in corticosterone and aldosterone, hormones produced by the adrenal gland and important for stress response.[38]

Conservation status

Panel of drawings of a red-black newt
The Yunnan lake newt is considered extinct.

Although some species, such as the

Kaiser's spotted newt (Neurergus kaiseri), or the Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi) are considered threatened by the IUCN, and the Yunnan lake newt is an example of a newt species that has gone extinct recently.[39]

Some newt populations in Europe have decreased because of pollution or destruction of their breeding sites and terrestrial habitats, and countries such as the UK have taken steps to halt their declines.

great crested newts without a licence, or to cause them harm or death, or to disturb their habitat in any way. The IUCN Red List categorises the species as ‘lower risk’[14][42]
Although the other UK species, the smooth newt and palmate newt are not listed, the sale of either species is prohibited under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.[43]

In Europe, nine newts are listed as "strictly protected fauna species" under appendix II of the

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats:[44]

  • Calotriton asper
  • Euproctus montanus
  • Euproctus platycephalus
  • Lissotriton italicus
  • Lissotriton montandoni
  • Triturus carnifex
  • Triturus cristatus
  • Triturus dobrogicus
  • Triturus karelinii

The remaining European species are listed as "protected fauna species" under appendix III.[45]

As bioindicators

Newts, as with salamanders in general and other amphibians, serve as

bioindicators because of their thin, sensitive skin and evidence of their presence (or absence) can serve as an indicator of the health of the environment. Most species are highly sensitive to subtle changes in the pH level of the streams and lakes where they live. Because their skin is permeable to water, they absorb oxygen and other substances they need through their skin. Scientists study the stability of the amphibian population when studying the water quality of a particular body of water.[citation needed
]

As pets

]

References

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  4. ^ John Wilkins, An Essay Towards a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language (1668), p. 161. Gilbert White, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, in the County of Southampton (1789) p. 50: "the water-eft, or newt, is only the larva of the land-eft, as tadpoles are of frogs". Archibald Constable, Constable's miscellany of original and selected publications in the various departments of literature, science, & the arts, Volume 45 (1829), p. 63: "the salamandra aquatica of Hay, (the water-newt, or eft)".
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