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  you are in: ANIMALS > NEWTS > PALMATE NEWT 



Palmate newt
Lissotriton helveticus

Palmate newts look very similar to smooth newts but they have more of a preference for shallow ponds on acidic soils. They’re patchily distributed and found on heathland in the south and west and on moorland and bogs in the north; they're quite common in Scotland, Wales and southern England but absent from much of central England. Palmate newts can tolerate drier conditions than smooth newts and so can be found further from water.

Statistics

Size: adults rarely exceed 10cm.
Colour: the back is usually a shade of brown or grey and the belly is yellow/orange.
Markings: small black dots cover the belly (but not the throat); there may be spots on the back and/or a thin stripe down the back. During the breeding season males develop webbed back feet and a thin filament on the tail.
Status: fairly widespread but thought to be declining; protected against trade/sale.  

A newt’s life
 

Individual eggs are laid and wrapped up in the leaves of pond plants, during spring (usually around April). Depending on local weather conditions, two to four weeks later larvae (sometimes called newt tadpoles) will hatch out. The larvae have feathery gills around the head, distinguishing them from frog and toad tadpoles. A couple of months after they hatch the larvae start to grow their front legs (again, different from frogs and toads), followed by the back legs. When they have absorbed their gills, they leave the water as newtlets (or efts), usually in summer.  

Palmate newts spend the winter sheltering under rocks, in compost heaps or buried down in mud. They don’t hibernate as such, and may take advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage.  

Adult newts emerge from their overwintering sites in early spring and head to a pond to breed. Males perform an elaborate courtship dance before the eggs are laid. At this time of year adult newts spend quite a lot of time in the water and will hunt frog tadpoles. Later in the summer they can be found sheltering under wood, rocks and paving slabs.  

Primary threats

Loss of habitat.