Before you ask any questions, yes, newts are salamanders (but not all salamanders are newts). Ironically, our newt species is the only member of the "true salamanders" in West Virginia. The Eastern newt (also deemed "red-spotted newt") lives a peculiar yet fascinating life. At their beginning they start out underwater as an egg and hatch into gilled aquatic larvae. Following the absorption of their gills to form lungs, they gain a neon red-orange color and rough skin to begin their life on land as a juvenile (immature) "red eft". After one or more years their skin changes from rough and bright to smooth and drab olive green with a yellow belly (with the only red remaining being their spots). This physical change comes with a habitat change as well, moving back to the water to reside in slow moving rivers, ponds, and lakes. What's more crazy is their ability to return back to land should their water source dry up! If that happens, their brain will subconsciously detect the need to move to land and signal their skin to change back to rough again. Truly a wonder, Eastern newts can be found from Canada to Florida.