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| Fact File |
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- Adults rarely exceed more than
10cm long.
- The back is usually a shade of
grey or brown and the belly is pale orange or yellow.
- Small black dots cover the belly
(including the throat); there may be dark spots or
stripes along the back. During the breeding season
males develop a continuous wavy crest down the
spine.
- They're widespread and common but are thought to
be declining.
- Smooth newts are protected by law
against trade/sale.
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Photos (clockwise from left): Matt Wilson, Andy Mortimore/Froglife
& Sivi Sivanesan/Froglife |
Smooth newts look very similar to palmate newts but are more
widespread; they’re found throughout Britain and Ireland. Smooth
newts can not tolerate as dry conditions as palmate newts. On
land, their skin takes on a velvety appearance and they are
sometimes mistaken for lizards. Like
common frogs they are usually quite quick colonise garden ponds.
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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.
Individual eggs are laid and wrapped up in the leaves of
pond plants. 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. At this
time of year adult newts spend quite a lot of time in
the water and will hunt frog tadpoles.
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When the larvae have absorbed their gills, they leave
the water as newtlets (or efts). Adults may still be in
or around ponds hunting for food. |
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Later in the summer and in autumn, newts can be found
sheltering under wood, rocks and paving slabs, in
between feeding up on slugs and insects in time for
winter. |
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Smooth newts spend the winter sheltering under rocks, in
compost heaps or buried down in mud; occasionally they
will overwinter in ponds. They don’t hibernate as such,
and may take advantage of milder patches of weather to
come out and forage.
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Loss of habitats and habitat connectivity.
Frequently asked questions about
newts.
Check out our
smooth
newt gallery on Facebook.
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