Red Spotted Newt - Eft Stage
Last April, I discovered newts in our pond. The other day, I spotted this eft in my garden. He was so bright he looked like he was glowing from within.
We have Red Spotted Newts, which are a subspecies of the common Eastern Newt. They have three phases to their lives. They begin as gilled aquatic animals. Then they turn red and are terrestrial for up to three years. This red terrestrial phase is the eft phase. They can travel great distances as efts.
This little guy was intent on travel and adventure. We put him in a bowl so we could take his picture but that didn't slow him down too much. Unfortunately the white bowl made him look darker than he was. This guy was practically fluorescing.
More good info on Eastern Newts, the Red Spotted subspecies, and their life stages can be found on Wikipedia.
posted by Leslie @ 1:18 PM
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6 Comments:
I almost hate to say it..but that sure is a pretty newt.
aww, how sweet! We had tons of red efts in our old home. Pixie adores them.
It was a *beautiful* newt. It glowed. So much better in real life than in those photos.
Steph, I've read that they're very common but this is the first one I've seen. Lovely!
I saw a newt on the street, so I picked it up to put it on the grass. I thought it was adorable, but I didn't know what it was so I did some research. As it turns out, Spotted Newts are poisonous. I washed my hands over and over- as suggested. I learned that the newts are dangerous, but not deadly. I would reccomend not touching them, but if you do, don't fret. The newts are very cute, but don't let that fool you.
Sharon,
Who knew?? I've not messed with the spotted newts because they're swimming in the pond and I'm usually on the shore or on the dock admiring them. I did pick the eft up and carry him around with no adverse effects.
FFF this thing is so cute XD we have them at my uncle's place, but not until recently did I find one in the Eft stage. AWESOME <3
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