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Eastern newt

Notophthalmus viridescens · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens): Adult: olive-green, brown or yellowish-brown above with small black-bordered red spots in most of the range; yellow belly with small black spots; rough, not slimy, skin; 7-12.4 cm. Red eft (terrestrial juvenile, 2-7 years): bright orange or orange-red, usually under 3.5 in, dry rough skin; efts commonly walk in the open by day. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Eastern newt in its red eft stage on moss
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Scientific name
Notophthalmus viridescens
Family
Salamandridae
In North America
Native
Range
Most of eastern North America, from the Canadian Maritime Provinces west to the Great Lakes and south to Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Biology

How to identify it

Adult: olive-green, brown or yellowish-brown above with small black-bordered red spots in most of the range; yellow belly with small black spots; rough, not slimy, skin; 7-12.4 cm. [1][2]

Red eft (terrestrial juvenile, 2-7 years): bright orange or orange-red, usually under 3.5 in, dry rough skin; efts commonly walk in the open by day. [1][2]

Breeding males: tall tail fin, swollen vent, blackish horny patches on inner thighs and toe tips. [1][2]

Larvae have feathery gills and a dark stripe through each eye; Carolina Coastal Plain adults have a broken black-bordered red stripe on each side. [1][2]

Compared with the red salamander: Red salamander has about 16 costal grooves, a black chin and a yellow iris; the newt has rough skin without prominent grooves on the sides. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a eastern newt before you act. Compared with the red salamander: Red salamander has about 16 costal grooves, a black chin and a yellow iris; the newt has rough skin without prominent grooves on the sides.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Lakes, ponds, swamps and quiet stream pools, especially without predatory fishes; efts live in adjacent wooded areas. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Adults migrate between terrestrial habitat and breeding ponds, mostly on rainy nights; aquatic stages can stay active all year, even under ice. [1][2]

Skin secretions are highly toxic, the red eft most of all; efts curl and show bright colours when attacked. [1][2]

Adults and larvae eat small aquatic animals including amphibian eggs; efts eat small invertebrates, often snails. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Most of eastern North America, from the Canadian Maritime Provinces west to the Great Lakes and south to Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web