Red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus v. viridescens)
I bet you’re thinking, “Newt? It just looks like a salamander.” Physically, newts lack the side grooves typically found along most salamanders’ bodies. Taxonomically, all salamanders are in the family Salamandridae, while newts fall within a subfamily to that: Pleurodelinae. In other words, all newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts. The red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus v. viridescens) is one of four sub-species of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), and is the only sub-species found in New England. During…