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Interesting amphibian

Gallery: Regional: UKNPPosted March 31, 2011302 views12 comments

Palmate /Smooth newt Hybrid
Some of you may be interested. Not a great shot - lot of trouble with muck in the water showing up especially well with the macro and flash. Working all three Newt species lately(Great Crested under licence) and did this one last night and thought it was a young poorly developed Smooth Newt.
I thought there was something odd about it but passed it off . When I looked at the pics tonight I could see the strange colouring and other features. Firstly- the hind feet are far more webbed than a Smooth but not as much as a Palmate. The tail colour is half way between the two. There is no typical Palmate tail filament showing. The crest is much reduced and the body spots are half way between.
The bad news is that I released it back into one of my pools in the garden so if I want it again I have to catch about 800 !
I know learn that there have only been a handful of these recorded in the UK and a couple in France.! (Prints available £300 each

)
There's something else interesting too !!?? See it ?
D200
50mm Macro
Fill flash
400ISO f16

Cheers
JohnR

( Have tried to contact Brett Lewis,)

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Phil Ellard on March 31, 2011 at 5:54 PM

Very interesting, you know more about newts than me

Registered on December 17, 2010, 60 Posts, 634 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on March 31, 2011 at 6:00 PM

Thanks Phil
I have an relationship with newts ----- we both spend a lot of time p****d.

Cheers
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Burton on April 1, 2011 at 3:57 AM

Seems to have 2 new eyes growing in the wrong place :) At first I did not realize it was an underwater shot, though it had climbed up a plant

Well done.

Registered on September 16, 2010, 26 Posts, 461 Comments

Comment posted by David Kjaer on April 1, 2011 at 4:02 AM

Hi John

Interesting I think most of us would have recorded it as a Smooth Newt - I wonder how many more like this are in the pond?

Very nice image.

David

Registered on January 4, 2006, 128 Posts, 4170 Comments

Comment posted by David Sewell on April 1, 2011 at 4:23 AM

Very interesting, John. Some years ago one of our ponds at the University of Kent had a hybrid just like this, that I managed to catch on a number of occasions. I presume that the two dots on the tail are newt eggs? These are normally laid on a leaf, which is then folded. There may be an example at the bottom of the picture, underneath the rear foot of the newt. I have never seen one on the tail of a newt before, let alone two!

Incidentally, you may find Brett Lewis a bit difficult to get hold of at present. We have sent him to Peterborough. That's a bit like sending him to Coventry, but more extreme

.

David

Registered on September 10, 2008, 63 Posts, 801 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Summers on April 1, 2011 at 5:38 AM

Haven t a clue what it is John but its a super shot

Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on April 1, 2011 at 5:50 AM

Thanks.
Yes the eggs were laid on the tail whilst this and a couple of others were in a bucket whilst I got the photo tank ready. David- there are no other eggs as this water mint came out of a tank with no newts in it..
Cheers
John R

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Oscar Dewhurst on April 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM

Great shot John - love the orange on the tail

Oscar

Registered on August 6, 2009, 85 Posts, 502 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Smit on April 1, 2011 at 11:24 AM

Hi John, lovely picture. I like these kind of pictures. My guess is a palmate, but just like you I'm not sure. The light spot just above the backleg let me made this guess, most others does not have that. Also the dark line through the eye. And of course the webbed feet.
The other interesting thing you're referring to are the two eggs on the tail I suppose?
I have no idea what this is.

If you want I can ask an expert in amfibians. Let me know

Registered on April 15, 2008, 15 Posts, 31 Comments

Comment posted by Des Ong on April 1, 2011 at 3:28 PM

Interesting indeed, like the pic too

Registered on July 12, 2007, 23 Posts, 234 Comments

Comment posted by Kim Connolly on April 2, 2011 at 5:48 AM

Hi John, Being thick on this subject - to me it's just a newt - but it's a fine specimen and a lovely picture.. Cheers!

Registered on June 18, 2008, 14 Posts, 226 Comments

Comment posted by Rene de Heer on April 3, 2011 at 11:15 AM

John , dont know much about these creatures, but the image and composition are very nice!
Rene de Heer

Registered on November 15, 2003, 31 Posts, 215 Comments