Details
Pleurodeles waltl
The Iberian ribbed newt is a large aquatic newt of the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. It is famous for pushing rib tips through the skin as a defensive weapon.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and nearby areas, using ponds, wells, cisterns, seasonal pools and slow channels. During dry periods it moves to damp refuges.
Adults reach about 15-30 cm in total length, making this one of Europe's largest newts. The flattened brown to gray-brown body has small side bumps along the ribs.
Strongly aquatic and often nocturnal, it spends much of its life in water. When threatened, it stiffens and projects rib tips through the skin together with toxins.
Aquatic insects, worms, snails, small crustaceans and tadpoles are eaten. The newt searches along the bottom and among vegetation.
Breeding occurs in water, where females attach eggs to vegetation or submerged objects. Larvae have external gills and develop in the pond before metamorphosis.
The species is listed as Least Concern, but drainage, pesticides, introduced fish and road mortality threaten local populations. It has also been used in space biology research.
