ADW: Taricha Granulosa: INFORMATION - Animal Diversity Web

Physical Description

The eggs of T. granulosa are each separately encased in a gelatinous substance, around 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter. The ova are generally light-brown on top and cream colored on the bottom.

Larvae are aquatic, with a faint dorsal stripe on either side of the body that fades as they mature. Larvae have a dark stripe that extends from the eye to the nostril as well as two rows of spots. One row is near the limb insertions and the other is near the fin. The fin is speckled with dark spots. Larvae measure around 18 mm in total length.

Adults range from about 12.7 to 21.6 cm in total length. They have rough, grainy skin that is dark-colored dorsally and orange to yellow-orange ventrally. Their textured skin has earned them the common name "rough-skinned newts." Their eyes are relatively small and do not extend beyond the edges of the head. The irises are yellow, and the lower eyelids are orange. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a V-shaped pattern. Costal grooves are absent. Males are larger than females, with longer vents. During the breeding season, males and females become temporarily aquatic. Males develop smooth, spongy skin that is lighter-colored than usual. Their vents are strongly pronounced and swollen. The tail crests become more pronounced, as do the nuptial pads on the tips of their toes. The appearance of the females does not change, though their vent becomes cone-shaped.

Some adults living at high elevations retain their gills and are totally aquatic, though they do not exhibit genuine paedomorphosis. Aquatic females can sometimes be confused with breeding males, because they have lighter, smoother skin, tail crests, and larger vents than do terrestrial females. However, these features are less pronounced than in breeding males.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry
• poisonous poisonous

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger
• sexes shaped differently

Range length 12.7 to 21.6 cm 5.00 to 8.50 in