newt

(pronunciation: new…t)

a kind of animal – amphibian – aquatic or semi-aquatic (= living a stage or some stages of the life cycle in water and some on land) – belongs to the salamander – lizard-like body –  different species have different body colours, four legs spread side ways,  long tail, size: 3-7 inches long, and weight: 6-12 grams; feeds on (eats) insects, leeches, worms, shell-fish, and sometimes other smaller amphibians; lives for 15-20 years; found in the temperate zones of America, North Africa, Africa and Europe

Some common newts are: smooth or common newt, firebelly newt, crocodile newt, Alphine newt, spotted newt, crested newt, banded newt

Special Features:

The ‘red-spotted newt’ is the state amphibian of New Hampshire, USA.

Like all amphibians, newts also spend some stages of their life in water and some on land.  The female newt lays her eggs on the leaves of the water plants; the eggs develop into tadpoles; after some changes, they leave water and go on to the land, at which stage they are called “efts”; while spending their time on land, they change into adults; and at this stage, they return to water – some species live the rest of their lives in water, but some go on to the land from time to time.

Most newts have the ability to re-grow their damaged or cut off body parts – eyes, limbs, etc!

Figures of Speech:

(a)  as dumb/drunk/tight as a newt

(b) as pissed as a newt = very, very drunk

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