Rubbing Noses, Kaiser's Spotted Newt, Neurergus kaiseri, ARTIS Amsterdam Zoo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Often this small Newt is misnamed in English - also in our Zoo - as Emperor Spotted Newt. That 'Emperor' is a misunderstanding of the Latin specific 'kaiseri' which stands for the expert on Iranian fish who published work in Denmark, E.W. Kaiser. Our Newt was described and named scientifically by Karl Patterson Schmidt (1890-1957). It hails from the southern Zagros Mountains in Iranian Luristan where it's an endangered species. Schmidt had an astute and persevering scientific mind. When he was lethally bitten by a venomous snake in his care he kept meticulous notes on the effects of its poison on his body and refused medical care in order to complete them. No fear for us for being poisoned by our harmless Newt.
Rubbing Noses, Kaiser's Spotted Newt, Neurergus kaiseri, ARTIS Amsterdam Zoo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Often this small Newt is misnamed in English - also in our Zoo - as Emperor Spotted Newt. That 'Emperor' is a misunderstanding of the Latin specific 'kaiseri' which stands for the expert on Iranian fish who published work in Denmark, E.W. Kaiser. Our Newt was described and named scientifically by Karl Patterson Schmidt (1890-1957). It hails from the southern Zagros Mountains in Iranian Luristan where it's an endangered species. Schmidt had an astute and persevering scientific mind. When he was lethally bitten by a venomous snake in his care he kept meticulous notes on the effects of its poison on his body and refused medical care in order to complete them. No fear for us for being poisoned by our harmless Newt.