Help identifying

[erik]

Hey guys. I know that pet stores suck at distinguishing between t. granulos and t. torosa, which is hy I am curious as to what my little guy is.

Based on images that I've seen, and a few of the descriptions, I want to say that this is a t. granulosa, but there are a few parts of descriptions that would make me think otherwise.

The eyes of my newt do not extend from the profile of the head when viewed from above. They bug out a little, but not excessively. The lower eyelid, however is somewhat lighter colored.

I have never seen my newt take a defensive posture that I know of, but from what I have read a t. torosa will lift its head up and keep the tail straight (something that I have seen my newt do) while a t. granulosa will lift it's head and curl its tail (never seen this with my newt).

Judging from pictures, this just plain LOOKS like a t. granulosa. All the t. torosa that I have seen do not have the obvious shift from dark dorsal to bright belly while the t. granulosa do seem to.

Click!

Mine looks almost exactly like that.

 

[nate]

Hi Erik, everything you've said pretty much confirms it's a granulosa. I think you got confused...it's the granulosa eyes which will not protrude beyond the outline of the head when viewed above. T. granulosa in the pet trade are collected from California. Sometimes they get torosa as well, but most pet store shipments are granulosa.

Palatine tooth pattern is the only way to tell the two species apart FOR SURE besides geographic range.