Newts
have a complicated life history. Unlike the other salamanders
of Rhode Island, newts have an additional life stage - the eft
stage. Efts in Rhode Island are typically brown. Efts
are entirely terrestrial whereas the adults are, in most cases,
totally aquatic.
During
the breeding season and late fall-males can be distinguished
from females by the presence of black pads (excrescences) on
the digits of their hind feet and a high tail fin.
NEWT
LARVA
Newt larvae have a black line extending through their eye; a
characteristic which aids in separating them from the larvae
of spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum).
