Description: The adult central newt is a small, slender aquatic salamander without external gills or costal grooves (vertical grooves along the sides). The back is olive brown and the belly bright orange yellow. The dark color of the back and the yellow of the belly are distinctly separated along the sides of the body. Some very small red spots ringed with black may be along the back on both sides of the spine. Numerous small black spots usually cover the body; the black spots may be somewhat larger on the belly than on the back. A dark line runs from the nostril through the eye to the forelimbs. The eyes are often orange yellow.

For a couple of years in the middle (“eft”) stage of their life cycle, central newts live on land. Efts are dull brown to reddish brown or cream-colored, with a rounded tail and rough, almost bumpy skin. The youngest, larval individuals are aquatic and have gills. Upon hatching, they are about 1/4 inch long.

Habitat: Adults live in woodland ponds, swamps, and occasionally water-filled ditches. They are seldom numerous in ponds that harbor fish or that lack aquatic plants. But a small, fishless, undisturbed pond may contain a surprisingly high number of adult newts.

Range: In the United States in a narrow north-south band from the Great Lakes region west of Lake Huron south to eastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and then east to South Carolina. In Canada, Central Newts are only found in western Ontario along the north shore of Lake Superior and west toward Manitoba.

Found in these States: AL | AR | FL | GA | IA | IL | IN | KY | LA | MI | MN | MO | MS | OK | SC | SD | TN | TX | WI

Diet: Adult newts eat mainly worms, small mollusks, crustaceans, insects, leeches, amphibian eggs, salamander larvae, and small tadpoles. The terrestrial efts eat small insects and tiny snails they find under logs and rocks. The aquatic larvae eat smaller aquatic invertebrates.

Reproduction: Newts have a complex life cycle, generally having four stages: egg, aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (the land-dwelling eft), and aquatic adult. Breeding occurs in late March through early May. Fertilization is internal. Over a period of weeks in April through June, a female can lay 200–375 eggs, singly, on aquatic plants. These hatch after 3–5 weeks. The gilled larvae live in water until mid-July or early September, but some do not leave the pond until October. At this point, they transform into rough-skinned, land-dwelling efts without gills. As efts, they live 2–4 years on land, hiding in leaf litter, under logs and rocks, or in rotten stumps. Then, they return to a pond or swamp, change into aquatic adults, and spend the rest of their lives mostly in water.

Most adult newts are generally between 3 and 8 years of age, but some individuals may live as long as 13 years.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution and number of subpopulations, presumed large population size, and remaining suitable habitat across its range.

Taxonomy: