Smooth Newt
Lissotriton vulgaris
The smooth newt is a small, slender amphibian reaching up to 11 centimeters in length. During the breeding season in spring, males develop a high, wavy dorsal crest that continues onto the tail without interruption. Their skin is smooth during the aquatic phase and velvety during the terrestrial phase, typically featuring brownish coloration with dark spots.
Details
Identification
Males with wavy dorsal crest and large dark spots; females more inconspicuously brown; throat usually pale with dark spotting.
Social behavior
Gregarious in water bodies during the breeding season; largely solitary in terrestrial habitats during the rest of the year.
Diet
Carnivorous; feeds on insect larvae, small crustaceans, worms, snails, and amphibian spawn.
Hunting strategy
Ambush predator or active search for prey both in water and in moist terrestrial habitats.
Spawning substrate
Aquatic plants; the female folds individual leaves around each egg.
Overwintering
Overwintering usually on land in frost-free underground burrows, under dead wood, rock piles, or in cellars.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important predator of invertebrates; serves as a food source for various birds, reptiles, and mammals.
Natural predators
Fish, grass snakes, grey herons, mallards, as well as dragonfly larvae and diving beetles (for larvae).
Competitor species
Other newt species like the alpine newt and great crested newt; also other amphibian larvae when food is scarce.
Ecosystem service
Biological control of mosquito populations by consuming their larvae.
Threats
Habitat loss and fragmentation, drainage of breeding ponds, pesticide input, and fish stocking.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
During the breeding season, males develop a high, wavy, and continuous dorsal crest that transitions into the tail fin without a notch. A dark eye stripe is usually prominent. Male hind feet do not possess broad webbing.
Role in food web
Mesopredator; regulates invertebrate populations and serves as an important food source for higher predators.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Habitat loss through the filling of small water bodies, intensive agriculture (pesticides), fish stocking in breeding ponds, and road mortality during migration.
Population trend
Still common in large parts of Europe, but local declines recorded in intensively used agricultural landscapes.
Conservation measures
Creation and restoration of fish-free small water bodies, preservation of deadwood and hedges as terrestrial habitats, installation of amphibian protection systems on roads.