QuestionGreat crested newt
How Can You Identify a Great Crested Newt? Key Features
You can identify a great crested newt by its size, up to about 17 cm (6.7 in), its dark, warty skin with white-speckled flanks, and its bright orange belly marked with irregular black blotches. In spring, males also grow a tall, jagged crest along the back and show a silvery-white stripe along the tail.
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Key features at a glance
The great crested newt is the largest of Britain’s three native newts, and once you know what to look for it is fairly easy to recognize. Check these features:
- Size: adults usually 10–17 cm (4–6.7 in) long, clearly bigger than other British newts.
- Skin: rough and granular, which is why it is also called the warty newt.
- Color above: dark brown to almost black, with black spots that can be hard to see.
- Sides: heavy white stippling on the flanks and the sides of the head.
- Belly: bright yellow to orange with irregular black blotches.
- Throat: dark with yellow patches and fine white speckles.
Size and skin
Size is the first clue. Most adult great crested newts measure 10–16 cm (4–6.3 in), and large females reach about 17 cm (6.7 in), while smooth newts are usually 8–11 cm (3–4.3 in) and palmate newts only 5–9.5 cm (2–3.7 in). A big, dark newt moving slowly through deep water is very likely a great crested newt.
The skin texture is just as useful. Smooth and palmate newts have smooth skin in the water and velvety skin on land, but the great crested newt looks rough and pimpled at all times. Up close, the white speckles on its flanks look as if the newt has been dusted with salt.
The orange belly
The underside is the newt’s most famous feature. The belly is bright yellow to orange, broken by black blotches that are irregular rather than neatly round. This bright coloring is a warning to predators: when threatened, the newt may roll its body to flash the orange belly while releasing a distasteful skin secretion.
Each newt’s belly pattern is unique, a little like a fingerprint. Researchers photograph the bellies of newts they catch under license and use the patterns to recognize individuals over many years, which helps them estimate how many newts live in a pond.
How to tell males from females
During the breeding season, from about March to June, males are unmistakable. They grow a tall crest along the back, up to about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) high, with deep, jagged notches. The crest stops at the base of the tail, and a separate, smoother crest runs along the tail. Each side of the tail shows a broad silvery-white or bluish-white stripe, and the male’s cloaca becomes swollen.
Females never grow a crest. They are often slightly larger than males and have a yellow or orange stripe along the lower edge of the tail. Outside the breeding season, males lose most of their crest, and both sexes look duller.
Great crested newt vs smooth and palmate newts
Britain’s other two native newts often share the same ponds (see where do newts live?), so it helps to compare them directly.
| Feature | Great crested newt | Smooth newt | Palmate newt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult length | 10–17 cm (4–6.7 in) | 8–11 cm (3–4.3 in) | 5–9.5 cm (2–3.7 in) |
| Skin | Dark, warty, white-speckled flanks | Smooth in water, olive-brown | Smooth in water, olive or brown |
| Belly | Orange with large black blotches | Orange or yellow with round black spots | Pale yellow or orange, few spots |
| Throat | Dark with yellow patches | Spotted | Pale pinkish, without spots |
| Breeding male | Tall jagged crest that breaks at the tail | Wavy crest running unbroken to the tail tip | Low smooth crest, thin tail filament, black webbed hind feet |
The throat is the best clue for telling smooth and palmate females apart: smooth newts have a spotted throat, while palmate newts have a plain one. Male palmate newts are easy to spot in spring by the short thread at the tip of the tail, about 4–7 mm long.
Eggs and larvae
Newt eggs are laid one at a time and wrapped in the folded leaves of water plants. Great crested newt eggs are larger and paler than those of other newts, about 2 mm across inside a jelly capsule about 6 mm (0.25 in) long, and creamy white to yellowish. Smooth and palmate newt eggs are smaller and usually grayish or brownish.
Great crested newt larvae also stand out. They grow up to about 7–8 cm (2.8–3.1 in) before leaving the water, have dark spotting on the body and tail fins, and usually swim freely in open water instead of staying near the bottom or among plants like smaller newt larvae.
Other look-alikes
Lizards are sometimes mistaken for newts, especially on land. Lizards have dry scales, claws on their toes and ear openings, and they move quickly in sunshine; newts have no scales or claws and are mostly active at night. The differences are covered in lizard vs salamander.
In mainland Europe, the great crested newt’s relatives, such as the Italian and Danube crested newts, look very similar and are told apart mainly by range and body shape. The alpine newt, introduced to a few places in Britain, also has an orange belly, but it is plain, without black blotches.
Look but do not touch
In the UK, great crested newts are strictly protected, and capturing or disturbing them without a license is an offense. If you think you have found one, watch it in the water by flashlight or take a photograph, and report the sighting to a local records center. Professional surveys are carried out by licensed ecologists, as explained in why are great crested newts protected?
Frequently asked questions
What color is a great crested newt?
Great crested newts are dark brown to almost black on the back and sides, with fine white speckles on the flanks. The belly is bright yellow to orange with irregular black blotches, and the throat is dark with yellow patches.
How can you tell a great crested newt from a smooth newt?
Great crested newts are bigger, up to about 17 cm (6.7 in), with dark, warty skin and white-speckled sides. Smooth newts are smaller, about 8–11 cm (3–4.3 in), with smoother olive-brown skin, and males have a continuous wavy crest instead of a jagged one that breaks at the tail.
Do female great crested newts have a crest?
No. Only breeding males grow a crest. Females can be recognized by their size, warty dark skin, orange belly and a yellow or orange stripe along the lower edge of the tail.
Is every great crested newt's belly pattern different?
Yes. The black blotches on the orange belly form a pattern unique to each newt, much like a fingerprint. Researchers photograph bellies to recognize individuals and estimate population sizes.
Can I pick up a newt to check what species it is?
In the UK it is illegal to capture or disturb a great crested newt without a license, so it is best not to handle any newt you cannot identify. Watch it in the water or take a photo instead.
What looks like a great crested newt?
Smooth and palmate newts are the most common look-alikes in Britain. In mainland Europe, other crested newt species and the marbled newt can look similar, and the alpine newt also has an orange belly, but without black spots.
Sources and further reading
- Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, "Great crested newt"
- Beebee, T. J. C. and Griffiths, R. A., Amphibians and Reptiles (Collins New Naturalist, 2000)
- Natural England, "Great crested newts: advice for making planning decisions"
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, "Triturus cristatus"
Cite this page
“How Can You Identify a Great Crested Newt? Key Features.” Animal Atlas, https://animals.bigworldlist.com/questions/how-to-identify-great-crested-newts/.
