Our largest (10cm) and
most threatened newt, the Great Crested is a spectacular dark newt with
a vivid orange belly decorated with bold black spots.
It has orange rings on
its toes and its dark brown/grey skin has dark spots and tiny white
raised pimples, which exude a foul-tasting fluid if handled - a warning
to predators.
Males
develop a tall, jagged crest with a silver tail flash in the breeding
season - that flash of rapidly disappearing silver is often the first
sign that Cresteds are in the pond. These newts feed on invertebrates.
They sometimes try to eat big worms which are far too large to swallow.
When this happens, they have to abandon them halfway.
Eggs are
laid singly, folded carefully within a water-plant's leaf. They develop
into tadpoles (larvae) which swim around, and gradually grow into adult
newts.
Status
Broad
Oak Nature Reserve
Known to have bred in
the Sunrise Trail pond, Crested adults are occasionally found under
logs and other refuges on the slopes in late autumn and early spring,
either side of hibernation.
A study in 2001,
showed that the population at Broad Oak Nature Reserve was small. Improvements
were made to the breeding ponds. Continued surveys will highlight changes
in the population. To download a full copy of the report click here:
Britain
The South-East
remains a stronghold but Cresteds are declining nationally through loss
of ponds and vital foraging terrestrial habitat.
