More Newt photos and its best friends!

After being lavished with all the attention from the introduction post, our newt asked us to release additional pictures (you can double click the thumbnails to view each picture full sized):

A great picture of the characteristic red spots!

Catching the ‘down low’ of the high five.

Three of the newt’s best friends and caretakers.

Insisting on getting a picture of its best side.

Meeting the QHST Family: The Newt

This Red-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) has the distinction of being one of the only (and probably THE only) QHST residents that can regenerate its body parts and that has the ability to use an internal compass as a homing device.

The resident QHST newt.

Both of those features are a characteristic shared by all members of this particular subspecies of the Eastern Newt.  The ability to regenerate lost limbs is a hallmark of salamanders, which is a group to which newts belong.  The homing ability of the newts is believed to be due to a combination of an innate magnetic compass and a sun dependent compass.  The interesting details are provided in several different papers, some of which even suggest that the newts may have ferromagnetic material in them which give them their magnetic compass ability.

Red Spotted Newts typically have a lifespan of 12-15 years and can grow up to anywhere between 2.5 inches to 5 inches long.  They typically undergo three different stages of life.  The first is the aquatic larvae stage (where they look like tadpoles) after they are born from the eggs laid in a pond or lake.  They then move onto land during the red eft stage, during which they become a bright red-orange color.  Finally, they mature into an aquatic adult stage where they can live both on land and in water and by which time they will have changed to their olive-green skin color with red spots.

Red Spotted Newts typically eat insects, leeches, worms, tiny mollusks and crustaceans, young amphibians, and frogs’ eggs.  Our newt has been feasting on a diet that consists mainly of earthworms (one small earthworm every three days).  However, it has shown evidence of a sophisticated palate based on the occasional different species of worm that it demands.

The map here shows that the sub species our newt belongs to is quite common in our local area and generally in the northeast.  For more information on the characteristics of the species our local newt belongs to check out this link. Otherwise enjoy a couple more action shots of our newt:

The newt loves to be the center of attention.

Relaxing on the table.