The rough-skinned newt of the U.S. Pacific coast: wierd science and art

The rough-skinned newt is common on the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. My friends and I remember playing with them as children when we visited the beach. They're all over the place in coastal forests and marshy estuaries near the ocean.

Unbeknown to us, like other members of the genus Taricha, the rough-skinned newt is highly toxic. In fact, it's the most poisonous animal in Oregon -- one newt's skin contains enough poison to kill an adult person if ingested, and is more toxic by weight than a poison dart frog. The high level of toxins is the result of an evolutionary battle with garter snakes. Newts get a personal benefit from being poisonous, because not only will predators avoid a known poisonous species, snakes may vomit up poisonous prey before it's digested, still alive. Over time, garter snakes developed a resistance to the poison, pushing the newts to become more poisonous. According to recent research, snakes are winning the race in some areas, but more resistant snakes still pay a price for their hardiness, being slower than other garter snakes.

My friend David Tilchin got some great photographs of rough-skinned newts over Thanksgiving, near Lincoln City, OR.


(Yes, they ARE wearing little red felt hats.) No newts were harmed in the making of this photo. They were photographed in the woods and returned to their habitats when we were done.

David has a wonderfully twisted imagination. This is his "illustration of creative process":