Common Name: Northern Crested Newt, Great Crested Newt, and Warty Newt
Scientific Name: Triturus cristatus
Family: Salamandridae
Locations: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom
Size: 6 inches (15.24 cm)
The Great Crested Newt is named after the crested that males grow during breeding season. The breeding season takes place during the spring to summer when the newts wake up from their hibernation. The newts move back to the ponds where they hatched to breed. The males will perform courtship rituals to try to attract a female to mate with. Females lay around 200 eggs during a breeding season. After breeding, the newts move back to land and the males lose their crests. They are often found under rocks and logs during this time.
While the Great Crested Newt is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, their populations are declining fast. The European Union has listed them as the protected species to help save them. The main reason for their decline is believed to be habitat loss due to development for urban areas.
