Sword-tailed newt
Amazing fact
Sword-tailed newts secrete fluid containing tetrodotoxin, a poison also found in pufferfish.
観光庁
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Sword-tailed newts secrete fluid containing tetrodotoxin, a poison also found in pufferfish.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Sword-tailed newt
- Scientific name
- Cynops ensicauda
- Japanese name
- シリケンイモリ
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Salamandridae
- Genus
- Cynops
Where the name “Sword-tailed newt” comes from
Its Japanese and English names both refer to the shape of its tail.
観光庁This page covers the species. Those on the Okinawa Islands are treated as the subspecies Cynops ensicauda popei (Okinawa sword-tailed newt).
It looks a lot like the Japanese fire-bellied newt, but you can tell it apart by its long, slender tail.
Its belly is red or orange, and its back is blackish, sometimes with golden markings.
It usually lives in streams and wetlands, but after rain it is often seen walking along mountain paths.
How the Sword-tailed newt lives
Research in Nakijin, Okinawa, found that it lays eggs from spring to autumn. In this area, it is thought to feed on the surrounding forest floor when away from the water.
科学技術振興機構Basic data
- Size
- Body length: about 10–14 cm
- Range
- Okinawa Island, nearby islands and the Kerama Islands
Where the Sword-tailed newt has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- シリケンイモリ
- 简体中文
- 剑尾蝾螈
- 繁體中文
- 劍尾蠑螈
- 한국어
- 칼꼬리영원
- Français
- Cynops d'Amami
- Deutsch
- Schwertschwanzmolch
- Italiano
- Tritone dalla coda a spada
- العربية
- نيوط سيفي الذيل
- Tiếng Việt
- Sa giông đuôi kiếm Nhật Bản
- Русский
- Окинавский тритон
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 沖縄美ら海水族館 — オキナワシリケンイモリChecked: 2026-11-03
- 観光庁 — イモリChecked: 2026-11-07
- 科学技術振興機構 — 今帰仁村におけるシリケンイモリの繁殖期と水場の利用Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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