The Impossible Predicament of the Death Newts

The impossible predicament of the death newts

Why is a cute little newt poisonous enough to kill multiple humans? And which snake is poisonous without being venomous? I also enjoyed the author's previous post on the evolutionary factors that led to a small male octopus with enough venom to kill a horse.

Occasional paper: The impossible predicament of the death newts — Crooked Timber

So a few days ago I posted about newts, and I mentioned that there was an American newt that was ridiculously toxic. But then (I said) there wasn’t space or time to go into why.  And of course I was immediately bombarded by many* comments and e-mails asking why. *threeWell, fine.  The world’s most toxic newt is Taricha granulosa, the Rough-Skinned Newt, a modest little amphibian native to the North American Pacific Northwest, west of the Cascade…