Last September, I was camping in Hocking Hills state park in Logan Ohio when I came across this Red-Spotted Newt or Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens. He was at the entrance to a large cave, where a shallow pool was fed by a thin waterfall. This little newt seemed to be basking on a log at the edge of the pool when it was spotted. The distinct red coloration and dark speckles contrasted quite a bit with the log on which this newt was perched. Male Red-Spotted Newts are said to lose the spotting on their legs upon the end of the spring breeding season. It was late September when this specimen was found, and he did not have any noticable spots to be seen on his limbs, leading me to believe he was a male. (Brian Lutter)
Looks like a red eft--the juvenile stage of red-spotted newts when they are highly terrestrial & toxic. Very, very cool...few people have seen these in the wild. (MDB)
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