Eastern Newt
Notophthalmus viridescens
Eastern Newt 2
Identification
Eastern Newt is best identified by it’s bright orange color and black circles in two rows lengthwise down it’s back. These circles are filled by the same bright orange color that consumes the majority of the newts body. The newt grows to 1.75-2.75 inches long. The Eastern Newt's larvae are small and thin with a pale green-brown color, and a dark line through each eye and two rows of light spots on their back just like the mature newts. The mature male and female newts begin to gain a brown color as they age.
Niche
The Eastern Newt is a consumer. I know this because they get their energy from consuming other organisms such as worms, insects, small crayfish, amphibian eggs, fish eggs and more. This makes the newt a carnivore. The newt is important in an ecosystem, being a predator towards small invertebrates such as water fleas, snails, and all kinds of insects. The Eastern Newt is Prey for birds, mammals, and other amphibians although many organisms flee due to the newts toxic skin.
Sources:
http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Notophthalmus_viridescens/
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/eastern_newt.htm
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Notophthalmus_viridescens/
Sources and Credits
- (c) Anita Gould, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Anita Gould, http://www.flickr.com/photos/61897811@N00/1305256303
- Adapted by snappingturtle4321 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notophthalmus_viridescens
