Newts (Salamandridae)______________________________

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Next time you are near a beaver pond, take a pause to search for the salamander with 3 lives.  After hatching, the Red-spotted Newt lives as a carnivorous larva in cool pools of water.  They develop lungs, and leave the water to begin the second phase of their life as the terrestrial "Red Eft".  This stage allows them to go "walk-about", colonizing new bodies of water.   However, it is not unusual to find them under water.  Their bright color warns predators of their unpalatablility.

The terrestrial Red Eft

Gravid (pregnant) aquatic fully transformed adult

The Red-spotted Newt is the only salamandridae found in Connecticut and is common.  I've encountered both the efts and aquatic adults throughout the seasons.

After a year or two on land, they change form once again and return to the aquatic world from whence they came.  Their tail flattens out into a caudal fin and they change color to blend with the brown/green of a pond's bottom.  They re-enter the aquatic world to live out the rest of their years as an air-breathing, aquatic salamander.

Intermediate form - note the dosum (top half) is growing darker and tail is becoming flatter along the sides.