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salamandridae
caudata
Amphibia
The eggs hatch in 2 or 3 weeks after laying, depending on the water temperature.
The female deposits between 800 and 1.500 eggs on submerged plants and stones.
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It is a carnivorous species, which feeds on insect larvae, aquatic invertebrates, small crustaceans, larvae and eggs of amphibians and annelids. Occasionally they may feed on carrion and plant matter.
It can live between 8 and 12 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.
The sharp-ribbed salamander is an Ibero-Magrebi endemism and the largest urodele in the Iberian Peninsula, and can measure up to 30 cm in length, although the average is between 15 and 25 cm.
Females lay their eggs in groups attached to underwater vegetation or bottom rocks, which will hatch after 2-3 weeks. The larvae of the sharp-ribbed salamander, which live aquatically, must accumulate a series of changes, such as the development of limbs, the resorption of the external gills and the development of lungs, until the metamorphosis process is completed.
In adults, two phases can be distinguished throughout the year: one terrestrial and the other aquatic. In the aquatic phase the skin is thin and smooth in appearance, and on the tail it has a skin ridge that will disappear in the terrestrial phase, in which the skin will also change to a more rough and thickened appearance. However, the duration of each phase is highly variable and some populations even spend the entire year in the water.
It has a unique defense mechanism in amphibians: its ribs can protrude from the sides, becoming impregnated with toxic secretions, thus avoiding being ingested by a predator. In fact, on the sides you can see 7 to 11 brown or orange protuberances in which the ends of the ribs are housed.
This characteristic defense mechanism, added to the fact that it usually inhabits water sources for cattle and other animals, gives meaning to its Valencian name: “ofegabous” (smothers bulls).
