IDENTIFICATION: Ranges in size between 5.7-12.2 cm. Record 14 cm. Terrestrial juveniles are bright orange with red spots circled with black, skin rough and not slimy. Aquatic adults are olive green with red spots, and skin is not slimy. Red spotted newts have skin gland secretions that render them toxic to predators. Some salamanders such as Pseudotriton ruber are thought to mimic the toxic red efts.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: The eastern newt may have benefited from European colonization as they readily colonize weed-choked farm ponds, and other habitats that contain predatory fish.
BREEDING/LARVAE: Breeds from the fall through the early summer, though in each population the longest season is about six months. Most populations have courtship in the spring and fall, though the females usually only lay eggs in the spring. Breeding depends on the latitude of the population. The sex ratio is usually more male to female by roughly 2:1 (in mating seasons). Males move about the ponds slowly; if a female stays close and is responsive the male performs a brief lateral display where he undulates the body and tail. If the female nudges his tail with her snout, the male deposits one or more spermatodes, which the female then picks up with her expanded vent. There are four stages of the eastern newt: egg, aquatic larvae, terrestrial red eft, and the aquatic adult. Once a larvae has reached the adult stage they usually have lungs, but lack gills. At this point they normally live the rest of their life in the water although they can survive for small periods of time on land.
HABITAT: Occur in moist forested areas and other upland or bottomland habitats. Ponds, streams, marshes, and ditches of unpolluted water are the most common habitats during aquatic stages.
PREDATORS: Even though the eastern newt's skin is highly toxic to most potential predators they are still preyed upon. Predators include, but are not limited to, bullfrogs, turtles, diving beetles, and some fish (fish predation is rare).
FOOD: During the red eft stage and terrestrial adult stage the eastern newt eats a wide variety of prey, including spiders, fly larvae, springtails, and mites. In the aqautic stage this species will eat almost anything it can, this includes small invertebrates such as ostracids, finger clams, snails, and copepods.
RANGE: The eastern newt's boundary to the east ranges from Canada until Florida, and in the west from northern Minnesota and parts of Canada to the eastern part of Texas.
     

References:

• Collins, Joeseph T. and Conant, Roger. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston New York, 1998.
  
• Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithosian Institution Press: Washington, 1998