Eastern newt
Red-spotted newt (terrestrial juvenile stage)
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Caudata Family: Salamandridae Genus: Notophthalmus Species: N. viridescens
Binomial name
Notophthalmus viridescens Rafinesque, 1820
Eastern newt range

The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common salamander of eastern North America. Eastern newts dwell in wet forests with small lakes or ponds. They may coexist in an aquatic environment with fish, because their skin secretes a poisonous substance when the newt is threatened or injured. They have a lifespan of 12 to 15 years in the wild, and may grow to 5 inches in length. The newts are a common aquarium pet, being either collected from the wild or purchased. The strikingly colored (orange) juvenile stage, which is land-dwelling, is known as the "red eft". Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 500 pixels Full resolution (1024 × 640 pixel, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Salamandridae Notophthalmus User:The Myotis... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification redirects here. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... For other uses, see Salamander (disambiguation). ... Genera   Calotriton   Chioglossa   Cynops   Echinotriton   Euproctus   Lissotriton   Lyciasalamandra   Mertensiella   Mesotriton   Neurergus   Notophthalmus   Ommatotriton   Pachytriton   Paramesotriton   Pleurodeles   Salamandra   Salamandrina   Taricha   Triturus   Tylototriton The family Salamandridae consists of true salamanders and newts. ... Notophthalmus is a genus of newts known as the North American newt. ... Latin name redirects here. ... C. S. Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) was a nineteenth-century polymath who led a chaotic life. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Salamander (disambiguation). ... North American redirects here. ... This article is about a community of trees. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... “Aquaria” redirects here. ... This article is about animals kept for companionship. ...

Taxonomy

The eastern newt has four subspecies: This article is about the zoological term. ...

• Red-spotted newt (N. v. viridescens) is the most widespread subspecies, with a row of small red-orange spots outlined in black along each side of the body.
• Central newt (N. v. louisianensis) is found along the western and southern edges of the species' range and typically lacks red markings.
• Peninsula newt (N. v. piaropicola) inhabits the Florida Panhandle. It is darker above and lacks red spots. Adults are often neotenic and rarely leave the water.
• Broken-striped newt (N. v. dorsalis) is found in the Carolinas and has red-orange markings which resemble broken stripes rather than circular spots.

The Florida Panhandle is the region of the state of Florida which includes the westernmost 16 counties in the state. ... Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ... The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. ...

Life stages

Red-spotted newt (aquatic adult stage)

Eastern newts have three stages of life: the aquatic larva or tadpole, the red eft or terrestrial juvenile stage, and the aquatic adult. The larva possesses gills and does not leave the pond environment where it was hatched. Larvae are brown-green in color, and shed their gills when they transform into the terrestrial red eft. The red eft is bright orangish-red in color, with darker red spots outlined in black. An eastern newt can have as many as 21 of these spots. The pattern of these spots differs among the subspecies. During this stage, the eft may travel far, acting as a dispersal stage from one pond to another, ensuring outcrossing in the population. After two or three years, the eft finds a pond and transforms into the aquatic adult. The adult's skin is olive green, but retains the eft's characteristic outlined red spots. It has a larger and wider tail and characteristically slimy skin. A red spotted newt in the adult aquatic stage. ... A red spotted newt in the adult aquatic stage. ... A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... For other uses, see Tadpole (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gill (disambiguation). ... The orange, the fruit from which the modern name of the orange colour comes. ... For other uses, see Red (disambiguation). ... This article is about the color. ... Outcrossing is the practice of introducing unrelated genetic material into a breeding line. ... Leafy green fountain in Wattens, Austria. ... A scorpion tail The tail is the section at the rear end of an animals body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. ...

The Peninsula newt (N. v. piaropicola) typically skips the red eft stage and metamorphoses directly into an aquatic adult. It is also common for this subspecies to be neotenic, with a larva transforming directly into a sexually-mature adult while retaining its external gills. Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ...

Habitat and diet

Eastern newts are at home in both coniferous and deciduous forests. They need a moist environment with either a temporary or permanent body of water, and thrive best in a muddy environment. During the eft stage, they may travel far from their original location. Red efts may often be seen in a forest after a rainstorm. Adults prefer a muddy aquatic habitat, but will move to land during a dry spell. Eastern newts have some amount of toxins in their face, and have brightly colored skin as elves which acts as a warning. Even then, only 2% of larvae make it to the eft stage. Some larvae have been found in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea.^[1] Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † “Conifer” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Deciduous (disambiguation). ... Binomial name L. Sarracenia purpurea range Sarracenia purpurea, commonly known as the Purple pitcher plant or Side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. ...

Eastern newts eat a variety of foods such as insects, small mollusks and crustaceans, young amphibians and frog eggs. Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... For the Dutch band, see Crustacean (band). ... ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frogness babe is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

Captive care

A small group (1-3) of adult eastern newts can be maintained in a 10-gallon aquarium half filled with pure water and equipped with an air-operated filter. The aquarium should be topped with a screen lid to prevent the newts from escaping and to provide proper ventilation. The newts will require an area to haul out of the water from time to time; this can be provided with a piece of driftwood or with terra cotta pots filled with aquarium gravel. If desired, a pothos or other semi-aquatic plant can be placed in the pot to help absorb nitrogenous waste produced by the newts. Hiding places for the newts should be provided in the form of aquarium plants and/or clay pots on the bottom of the aquarium. Water temperatures in the aquarium should stay between 60°F (16°C) and 70°F (21°C). 10-20% of the water in the newt aquarium should be replaced every week. The newts should be fed earthworms, redworms, mosquito larva (collected from non-polluted sources), brine shrimp and commercial amphibian diets such as poomin. Any uneaten food should be netted out to avoid fouling water “Aquaria” redirects here. ... A piece of waterlogged driftwood Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach by the action of the waves. ... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ... Pothos can mean: Epipremnum pinnatum - houseplant commonly called pothos, and once classified in the genus Pothos Pothos (genus) Pothos (mythology) - the personification of sexual longing, an attendant of Aphrodite, and a son of Zephyrus and Iris Pothos (Greece) - a village that is part of the commune of Lala in Ilia... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ... For the LPG album, see The Earthworm (album). ... For other uses, see Mosquito (disambiguation). ... For non-zoological information on this animal as a pet, see Sea-Monkey. ...

Miscellany

• The red-spotted newt subspecies is the State Amphibian of New Hampshire.

Red-spotted newt (red eft)

This is a list of official U.S. state amphibians. ... For other uses, see New Hampshire (disambiguation). ...

References

1. ^ Butler, J., Atwater, D., and Ellison, A. (2005) Northeastern pooper; Northeastern Naturalist 12(1):1-10

• Hammerson (2004). Notophthalmus viridescens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
• Article on Eastern Newts at Animal Diversity Web
• Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center - contains pictures of the red eft stage.
• The Broken-striped newt
• Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fish
• Caudata Culture Eastern Newt Caresheet and Photos
• Notophthalmus viridescens Species Account at AmphibiaWeb

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Notophthalmus viridescens