The palmate newt is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is 5–9.5 cm (2.0–3.7 in) long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the throat, unlike in the similar smooth newt, always unspotted. A dark stripe runs along the head and through the eyes. Breeding males develop a distinct filament on the end of their tail, strongly webbed hind feet, and a low, smooth crest on their back.
Palmate newt
Male during land phase, with dry, velvety skin
The underside is yellow to orange, and the throat always unspotted.
Breeding male with angular body, low smooth crest, tail filament and webbed hind feet
A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts, however. More than 100 known species of newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.
Newt
Pleurodeles, including the Iberian ribbed newt, is the type genus of subfamily Pleurodelinae.
The Pyrenean brook newt lives in small streams in the Pyrenees mountains.
Embryo in jelly capsule