Red Eft

This is the juvenile, terrestrial stage of the eastern newt. On damp days they go wandering looking for new ponds in which they'll settle down. As adults they are a dark brownish-green except for those little dots on the back and a bright yellow belly. Newt breeding requires the male to deposit a sperm packet on the bottom, which the female must pick up with her genitalia. Sometimes a male will engage in a courtship display with another male, then eat the other male's sperm packet. Successful matings lead to the female laying eggs, which hatch into tadpoles, which metamorphose into efts. Given their color, you won't be surprised to learn that newts excrete a toxin onto their skin and are rarely preyed upon.