Bosca's Newt

• GeneralEndemic to Iberia; the male waves his tail at the female in courtship.
• It is an Iberian endemic present across almost the whole western half of the peninsula, from Galicia to Andalusia, always tied to small waterbodies without fish.
• The orange belly speckled with black is its diagnostic feature and varies so much between individuals that it has been used as a fingerprint to identify particular animals in monitoring studies.
• Its decline is tied to the disappearance of traditional rural pools, springs and cattle troughs, and to the introduction of exotic fish and crayfish that prey on its larvae.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)

Habitat and environment

Pools, springs, streams and cattle troughs of the western half of the Iberian Peninsula

Size at birth

An aquatic larva with external gills, about 10 mm on hatching

Sexual maturity

2 years

Gestation / incubation

Larval development in pools and streams

Litter / clutch size

160

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/

Best time: From October to May in ponds, springs and streams of western Iberia, when it enters its aquatic phase to breed.

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.