User:Salinya/Red-bellied newt

It lives in coastal woodlands, especially in redwood forests, at elevations of 150 to 450 m.

One to three weeks later, the females join them. The migration of the newts peaks in early March, and occurs especially when the weather is cloudy or rainy at night.

Red-bellied newts have a remarkable homing ability. Every year, they return to the same area of a stream to reproduce. They can travel over several miles of rugged terrain to return to their original stream. Smell, not sight, is most likely responsible for the homing ability. Newts are not known to be territorial, and do not fight over their chosen areas in streams.

Red-bellied newts lay their eggs in fast-flowing mountain streams or rocky rivers.

The eggs are typically attached to the bottoms of rocks, or on branches and roots leaning into the stream.

Red-bellied newts can live for 20-30 years.

This serves as a warning to potential predators, as red-bellied newts have enough of a neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, in their skin, eggs, and embryos to potentially kill an adult human, or 1,200 to 2,500 mice. Because red-bellied newts are so poisonous, they are almost inedible and have no reported predators other a few species of snake which are resistant to the toxin.

The male red-bellied newt often has a dark, broad coloring across the vent, while the female red-bellied newt does not.

Once newt larvae mature into their adult form, which takes about four to six months, they will leave the water until they are ready to breed, which is typically in four to six years. Unless they are breeding, adult newts typically live underground.