This
photo of the Red-spotted Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens, was taken in the
Leatherwood Ford
area of The
Big South Fork NRRA in North Central Tennessee. One of four
subspecies of the Eastern Newt. The others are broken-striped, Central, and
Peninsula.
Common Name:
Red-spotted Newt
Scientific Name:
N. v. viridescens
Range:
Eastern Newt throughout most
of the eastern US. Red-spotted (shown) much of the mountainous
east.
Length:
adults up to 5.5"
Habitat:
streams, swamps, ponds,
rivers and surrounding forests during eft stage of life
The Red-spotted Newt has three distinct life stages; aquatic larvae,
terrestrial adult (red eft), aquatic adult (newt). The Newt in the photo is in
the red eft stage a stage in which they can often be seen crawling the forest
floor after a rain. The eft stage can last 2 years before they return to the
water for their adult stage. Adults are olive green with a yellow belly.
