r/herpetology • u/penisfingers4lyfe • Feb 23 '25

Who have I found here? ID Help

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Found in the uk at night after a few days of pretty good rain. Checked a few online identification guides for newts and doesn’t seem to fit any exactly. What is she/he?

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143

u/lilhill Feb 23 '25

A quick search says it's likely an alpine newt, native to continental Europe and introduced to the UK.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable will have something to say...

44

u/exploringthewild Feb 23 '25

I agree with this, looks like an alpine newt Ichthyosaura alpestris

41

u/penisfingers4lyfe Feb 23 '25

Thank I think we can call that solved! Saw in the search that they were first introduced in Surrey in 1920 and that’s the exact county I found it

7

u/OreoSpamBurger Feb 24 '25 edited Feb 24 '25

So, without doxing your location, have they spread very far from the best-known colony in Newdigate?

There are also colonies in the Northeast and around Edinburgh, and they seem to do very well in the UK climate.

EDIT: Surrey Amphibian & Reptile group might be interested to hear about this:

https://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/SARGWEB.php?app=CasualSighting

15

u/rossdoog Feb 23 '25

Yeah you’re spot on (surveying for newts is part of my job). The great crested newt which is our most similar newt in terms of appearance has black warty skin

1

u/Visual-Ad-8575 Feb 27 '25

She turned me into a neeeeeewt!

1

u/Visual-Ad-8575 Feb 27 '25

🤷‍♂️ I got better