Couldn't resist posting these pictures of a female common newt and baby (eft), both from our pond. The eft has frilly external gills at its neck, and is altogether much more delicately-formed than a froglet.
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Ooh I was a big fan of newts as a child, often used to catch them and keep them in an old washing up bowl. Never knew the babies were called efts though.
I think I'm right in saying adults used to be called 'ewts', but over time 'an ewt' became corrupted into 'a newt'. Not sure of the timescale involved, though.
Just had a look: 'ewt' is Midddle English, so the shift probably happened some time after 1500.
Efts are sort of teenage newts, between tadpole stage and their first breeding season. But I'm wondering, actually, if mine still has gills, whether it's advanced enough to be called an eft.
This blog charts the fortunes of water voles in and around the Whitchurch area, North Shropshire. Water voles are one of the UK's most threatened mammals, extinct in many counties, and so it's vital they receive as much monitoring and protection as there is going. Here in Whitchurch we're lucky enough to have them right in the middle of town - how cool is that?
3 comments:
Ooh I was a big fan of newts as a child, often used to catch them and keep them in an old washing up bowl. Never knew the babies were called efts though.
I think I'm right in saying adults used to be called 'ewts', but over time 'an ewt' became corrupted into 'a newt'. Not sure of the timescale involved, though.
Just had a look: 'ewt' is Midddle English, so the shift probably happened some time after 1500.
Efts are sort of teenage newts, between tadpole stage and their first breeding season. But I'm wondering, actually, if mine still has gills, whether it's advanced enough to be called an eft.
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