Baby Chinhai Spiny Newts born in Ningbo

Baby Chinhai Spiny Newts were born at a laboratory in the Beilun District Tree Farm in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

The Beilun District Tree Farm in Ningbo, Zhejiang province recently became home to a group of Chinhai Spiny Newts – a first-class protected animal in China.

The baby Chinhai Spiny Newts were born at a laboratory in the tree farm.

"Chinhai Spiny Newts inhabit temperate forests, freshwater marshes and ponds," said Zhu, a member of Xu Aichun Team at the China Jiliang University, "The incubator in the lab resembles the naturally occurring waterholes.”

Zhu said that it is difficult for Chinhai Spiny Newts to reach adulthood in the wild due to many predators, such as millipedes and snakes, as well as natural disasters, such as drought.

"The development of Chinhai Spiny Newts is similar to that of frogs. They go from gill-based ventilation to air-breathing with lungs," added Zhu.

What the team members are doing is taking care of them in the lab and waiting until they grow strong enough to survive in the wild.

According to Wu Guangnian, head of the Ruiyan Temple Forest Area of the Tree Farm, the newt's breeding season lasts from April to May, and nearly 350 baby Chinhai Spiny Newts are expected to be born this year. They will be released back into the wild in groups in October.

Chinhai Spiny Newts, or Echinotriton chinhaiensis, are a species of salamander unique to Ningbo. They are classified as "critically endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list.