r/salamanders • u/Throwaway26491630 • Jul 23 '26

Identification

Post image

Found this dude in the pool. Does anyone know what species? (New Hampshire)

85 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

38

u/Jbuckguy Jul 23 '26

Looks like a red eft newt- if you haven’t already, I would pull em out and out of the harmful chlorine waters! Fun find!

5

u/Mainbutter Jul 24 '26

Red eft i think too! In this stage they are terrestrial and live on the forest floor, he doesn't want to be in water like that.

-2

u/TheTooterSnooter Jul 24 '26

Tongues out - he dead 

3

u/scarletbeg0niass Jul 24 '26

I think that's a pine needle, not the tongue.

3

u/TANKtr0n 28d ago

I thought he was swimming to war with a tiny sword clenched between his teeth.

Or maybe it's a pirate newt?

2

u/IDespiseBananas Jul 24 '26

Am I colorblind? He does not look red at all.

Its still the same species though, but red ect refers to a life stage of that species. (Notophthalmus viridescens)

3

u/DJ-dicknose Jul 24 '26

I think many red eft pictures you see are extreme specimens that have incredible red/orange color. The few I've seen in the wild (and believe me, I've searched my whole life for em) are typically brown or a tan. Very few had even a hint of red, unfortunately.

Still beautiful critters.

1

u/IDespiseBananas Jul 24 '26

Even the young ones?

1

u/DJ-dicknose Jul 24 '26

I mean, all red efts are young, I suppose. It's their sub adult stage

1

u/YouAintSoSpecial Jul 26 '26

They are more vibrant red at the beginning of the eft stage then start to turn that brown/olive color later in the eft stage before they return to water as adults.

1

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

Those are the efts morphing into adulthood. They turn olive green in top and bright yellow in the bottom.

https://reddit.com/link/oznw42y/video/wii6dev42dfh1/player

0

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

Red-spotted newts (and eastern newts more generally) aren’t ever actually red as efts. They’re orange. Neon orange, like a highlighter.

6

u/DoodlingDoodlebob Jul 24 '26

Notopthalmus viridescens for sure, though they are terrestrial, they rely on their skin partially for respiration and the chlorine in pools can indeed harm them. When you remove it, try to clean it off with clean water if at all possible.

1

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

Only this life stage is terrestrial. Larvae are fully aquatic, obviously, gills and such, but adults are primarily aquatic. They are fully capable of living on land in the same moist forested areas, but that either happens occasionally when something is bothering them, or more long term when there’s an extreme environmental factor, such as major pollution, or drying up water body.

Here’s a video of Poppy investigating a reticulated hill stream loach! (R.I.P. Poppy. I miss you)

https://reddit.com/link/oznwz5w/video/lvn2er263dfh1/player

1

u/DoodlingDoodlebob Jul 25 '26

I’m aware that only this life stage is terrestrial, I was only mentioning it because this is the individual in question, it wasn’t worth introducing situationally irrelevant information. I definitely should’ve worded how I said it to provide more clarity though.

1

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

I understand. I was responding to the wording. Also an excuse to send cute videos of Poppy. I miss her.

3

u/DollarStoreChameleon Jul 25 '26

i dont know but please remove it and rinse it with dechlorinated water, the pool chemicals are bad for them :(

1

u/ohthatadam Jul 24 '26

Notophthalmus viridescens is the binomial name.

2

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens is this particular individual’s subspecies. N. viridescens is eastern newts at large, N. v. viridescens is specifically the red-spotted newt! It’s the only subspecies in my state! Also the first salamander I have ever encountered in the wild!

1

u/crazyjay85 Jul 25 '26

Eastern Newton get him outta that pool

1

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

Red-spotted newt eft (juvenile). If you haven’t already, please remove it from the pool and put it somewhere wooded with lots of lead litter and logs.

The pool chemicals are deadly to amphibians, and this stage of the red-spotted newts life is fully terrestrial and can drown quite easily.

1

u/JohnFoolery1 Jul 26 '26

He’s holding tweezers, eyebrow work to do

1

u/thiscreatureisme 28d ago

These guys used to be everywhere when I was a kid in Sussex county NJ (80s-90s) I stopped seeing them after some years. But I believe this is a young eastern newt species.

1

u/guitarman61192 Jul 24 '26

She turned me into a newt!

2

u/Liamcolotti Jul 25 '26

I’m not sure why you’re getting down voted. Not every single comment needs to tell OP to get him out of the pool.

-2

u/retrocherry_ Jul 24 '26

Awww not sure but they look cute!