Eastern newt

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Eastern newt
Aquatic adult male
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Salamandridae
Genus:	Notophthalmus
Species:	N. viridescens
Binomial name
Notophthalmus viridescens (Rafinesque, 1820)
Range of N. viridescens subspecies: Yellow: N. v. viridescens Purple: N. v. louisianensis Magenta: N. v. dorsalis Black: N. v. piaropicola

The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common newt of eastern North America. It frequents small lakes, ponds, and streams or nearby wet forests. The eastern newt produces tetrodotoxin, which makes the species unpalatable to predatory fish and crayfish.^[3] It has a lifespan of 12 to 15 years in the wild, and it may grow to 5 in (13 cm) in length. These animals are common aquarium pets, being either collected from the wild or sold commercially. The striking bright orange juvenile stage, which is land-dwelling, is known as a red eft. Some sources blend the general name of the species and that of the red-spotted newt subspecies into the eastern red-spotted newt (although there is no "western" one).^[4][5]