Great Crested Newt Triturus cristatus

The Great Crested Newt, also called the Northern Great Crested and Warty Newt, is native to northern and central continental Europe, the UK and western Siberia. The skin is rough and warty.

They can reach 15cm long. Outside of the breeding season, male and female look similar with a dark brown upperside with black spots and a yellow or orange belly with large black blotches, but the female is much larger than the male. The underside of the female's tail is also yellow. In the breeding season the male develops a tall, jagged crest along the back and another, more wavy, on the tail which also has a white lateral streak. The female does not develop a crest.

Most newts hibernate above ground in winter and return to still water to breed in the spring.