Notophthalmus viridescens

Adult eastern newts have somewhat rough, not slimy, skin. The sides lack prominent vertical grooves. Coloration varies throughout the range; the upper side is often olive-green, brown, or yellowish brown, sometimes blackish, with small red spots in most of the range. Newts on the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas have a red, broken, black-bordered stripe along each side of the back, and a yellow or orange-yellow belly, generally with small black spots. Maximum total length is around 5.5 inches (14 cm). In breeding males the skin is less granular than in nonbreeding terrestrial adults; the tail fin is tall, the vent is swollen and bulbous, and the toe tips and inner thighs have blackish cornifications. The immature terrestrial stage (red eft) is bright orange or orange-red (dull yellowish brown or reddish brown if recently metamorphosed; dark brown if transforming into adult stage) and usually less than 3.5 inches (9 cm) long. Large larvae have large gills and a dark stripe extending from the snout through each eye. Eggs are about 1.5 mm in diameter and are deposited singly.

Adults and larvae inhabit lakes, ponds, swamps, and quiet stream pools, especially those lacking predaceous fishes. Efts and sometimes adults (for example, overwintering ones) inhabit wooded areas (terrestrial eft stage lasts 2-7 years). In some areas, such as the northeastern United States, adults may be permanently aquatic, but in other areas they may leave the water in summer or fall.

Efts moved over an area averaging 270 square meters in Massachusetts. Apparently moves randomly in shallows of ponds. Larval abundance peaked at over 20/sq m in late spring in a North Carolina pond (Harris et al. 1988).

Eastern newts produce highly toxic skin secretions. The red eft stage is particularly toxic. Unlike most salamanders, efts commonly walk in the open during daytime; if attacked, they curl the body and display their bright colors. Although efts and adults are sometimes eaten by bullfrogs, garter snakes, turtles, and some other animals, many predators find them unpalatable and quickly learn to avoid them.

The timing of migrations and breeding vary throughout the range, depending on local conditions. In the water, males find females engage in courtship (may occur in spring or in both spring and fall). Courtship may or may not involve grasping and holding the female. Breeding males eventually deposit spermatophores on the pond bottom. Females pick up sperm from one or more spermatophores and later deposit up to a few hundred eggs, which are attached singly to submerged vegetation, generally in late winter or early spring, sometimes in summer or fall. Larvae hatch usually within about 2-5 weeks and metamorphose to the aquatic subadult or terrestrial eft stage about 2-3 months later, generally in late summer or early fall in most areas. Efts live on land for up to several years before returning to water and beginning to breed. In some areas, the terrestrial eft stage is omitted. Breeding by gilled, mature adults occurs in some areas.