Newts

There are three species of newts native to the UK, but of these only two are commonly found in Penwith, the smooth newt and the palmate newt.

A common misnomer is that newts are lizards, but this is not true. Lizards have a dry scaly skin, while those of newts tend to be smooth.

During the spring, newts return to the water. The females produce up to 300 eggs, each egg individually placed. The eggs hatch into clear larvae with feathery external gills.

In just ten weeks, the external gills disappear and lungs develop, legs grow and the newt has colour. At this point the young newt is a small copy of the adult and leaves the water.

Outside the breeding season newts live on land in moist damp areas.

Newts feed on both land and water invertebrates as well as other amphibian's tadpoles.

Smooth Newt   Triturus vulgaris

The smooth newt reaches a size of 10 cm. The difference in appearance between the sexes is distinct. The male has a crest which becomes more pronounced during the breeding season.

Palmate Newt   Triturus helveticus

The palmate newt reaches a size of 8 cm. Like the smooth newt there are differences between the sexes, but these are not so pronounced. The male has a larger more decorative tail, with a streak of orange running down its centre.