Great crested newt in Polissia
Triturus cristatus
Red Data Book of Ukraine
The great crested newt is the largest local newt. Its skin is dark and warty, with white dots on the sides, and its belly is bright yellow or orange with black blotches. In spring the male grows a tall, jagged crest along the back, separate from the crest on its tail.
The newt lives in mixed and broadleaved forests near ponds, ditches and small lakes without fish. In Polissia it occurs in all regions.
In spring newts move into the water to breed. The female wraps each egg in a leaf of an aquatic plant. The larvae have feathery external gills. The rest of the year newts live on land under snags and in the forest litter, and they winter in burrows and under stumps.
The great crested newt is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. It suffers when small ponds are filled in or drained and when fish, which eat the larvae, are released into them.
When to see: April–June in ponds; the rest of the year it hides on land
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990. Locations are shown approximately, to within 10 km.
More in “Reptiles and amphibians”
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