Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Journal of Toxicology
Publisher
Hindawi
Publication Date
9-2-2018
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
1
Last Page
5
Abstract
We investigated the concentration of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in sections of skin containing and lacking red dorsal spots in both Eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) efts and adults. Several other species, such as Pleurodeles waltl and Echinotriton andersoni, have granular glands concentrated in brightly pigmented regions on the dorsum, and thus we hypothesized that the red dorsal spots of Eastern newts may also possess higher levels of TTX than the surrounding skin. We found no difference between the concentrations of TTX in the red spots as compared to neighboring skin lacking these spots in either efts or adults. However, efts with more red dorsal spots had elevated TTX levels relative to efts with fewer spots.
Recommended Citation
Mackenzie M. Spicer, Amber N. Stokes, Trevor L. Chapman, Edmund D. Brodie Jr, Edmund D. Brodie III, and Brian G. Gall, “An Investigation into Tetrodotoxin (TTX) Levels Associated with the Red Dorsal Spots in Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) Efts and Adults,” Journal of Toxicology, vol. 2018, Article ID 9196865, 4 pages, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9196865.
