Red-spotted Newt

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata 

Class: Amphibia

Order: Urodela

Family: Salamandridae

Genus: Notophthalmus

Species: Notophthalmus viridescens

The Red-spotted Newt is an interesting amphibian because it has a bonus life stage in its life cycle. It starts off as an egg that hatches into an aquatic larva typical of amphibians. But, uniquely, this larva turns into a terrestrial juvenile called a Red Eft before maturing into an aquatic adult! Red Efts have slightly rough dry skin and are bright orange or red, with dark red spots outlined in black. In their adult stage, they turn more of a dull green, but they keep those red spots outlined in black. That’s because these spots are important for warning predators away! The Red-spotted Newt has toxins in its skin that make it a poor choice for prey and it wants all the other animals around to know it!