Like the X-men’s Wolverine extending his claws, the Spanish ribbed newt slashes through itself with its sharp rib bones to create defensive spines, according to a new study.
Scientists were already aware that the amphibian species responds to threats by thrusting out its rib bones, which then get coated with toxic skin secretions.
But little was known about how the odd adaptation worked.
It had been thought that the newt simply contracted its body, forcing the ends of the ribs out through special openings in the skin.
Scott Norris
for National Geographic News
