Iberian Ribbed Newt

When a predator grabs it, the newt rotates its ribs forward and swings them outward at a sharp angle. The rib tips are pointed and, on each side of the body, they line up with a row of specialised poison glands and thin patches in the skin. As the ribs swing out they pierce straight through those glands and through the skin, emerging as a row of spines coated in the toxic secretion. An attacker that has bitten the newt gets a mouthful of venom-tipped bone. The newt itself is not injured by the process; the skin has permanent perforation points that the ribs pass through cleanly, and any minor damage heals, helped by the animal's strong resistance to its own toxin and to infection. It can repeat the display many times over its life.

Not really. To be jabbed by the ribs you would have to be holding the newt firmly enough to threaten it, and the spines are short; a poke would sting and could introduce the mild skin toxin, causing local irritation, and there is a small infection risk as with any puncture. The toxin is not potent enough to cause serious harm to a person through a skin jab, and the newt is not aggressive. The sensible approach is the same as for any newt — handle as little as possible, with clean wet hands, avoid squeezing it, and wash your hands afterward and keep them away from your eyes and mouth.

It is a hardy, large, easily bred amphibian that tolerates handling and confinement well and has an exceptional ability to regenerate tissue, which makes it a useful model for studying how spaceflight affects living bodies. Since the 1980s, Iberian ribbed newts have flown on Soviet Bion satellites, on Space Shuttle missions, and on the Mir and International Space Stations. Researchers have used them to look at how microgravity changes early embryo development, how it affects the regeneration of an amputated limb or tail, and how the vestibular system (the balance organ of the inner ear) develops without normal gravity. The newts have generally coped with orbit remarkably well, and some have been bred in space.

It is one of Europe's largest newts, reaching about 30 centimetres, with unusually large females. It is popular in the amphibian hobby because it is tough, long-lived, mostly aquatic so it can be kept like a fish, active and visible, and readily captive-bred, and it will eat a wide range of foods. Points to know — it needs a good volume of cool, clean, well-filtered water with easy access to the surface and some land or floating cover, it must be kept only with its own kind because it is cannibalistic and will nip fish and other amphibians, and the wild-type animals are a protected, declining species so only captive-bred stock should be bought. An albino strain is common in the trade.