Eastern Newt: The Mini Forest Explorer

In honor of Amphibian Week that is celebrated annually May 3rd to the 9th we will learn about the Eastern Newt! What might be one of the most unnoticed and interesting creatures of the forest. Their life begins as a small egg underwater that resembles a frog egg. This egg is usually attached to pond debris or aquatic plants.

The eggs are attached to plants by the mother using her hind legs and wrapping the egg up on part of the plant. This action hides the egg from predators.

Each egg has a gel like coating surrounding them, and this keeps them protected and moist. After 2 to 5 weeks the newt hatches revealing a small fish like creature called a larvae.The larvae spends all of its time in water mainly eating small aquatic creatures like zooplankton.

After around 2 to 5 months later they turn into a land dwelling newt with vibrant orange skin and red spots with black outlines along their back, and at this stage they’re often referred to as “red efts”.

The efts stay low to the forest floor dining on beetles, small worms, and more.

Since the red eft will stay on land for up to 3 years they had to come up with a defense… which is having toxic skin!

After about 2-3 years (if they survive that long) they emerge back into their aquatic home, but some stay efts permanently. Now their once orange appearance turns into a muddy green color with black spots all over, but that’s not the only thing that changes their tail gets wider and ridges grow along their back. At this last stage of their life they eat slightly larger aquatic species such as small fish.Then the cycle continues. At the end of their life they live around 12 to 15 years.

These creatures are often overlooked, but a lot of times you can find them in mossy areas of the forest where there’s a lot of moisture.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Eastern Newt.

By Sarah White