It’s official – it’s a newt!

I sent a copy of the newt/lizard photograph to The Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Record Centre this morning and had a very prompt reply:

“Your shed ‘lodger’ is a newt. It is almost certainly a female Smooth Newt (Triturus vulgaris) although, depending upon the part of the County that you live in, it could possibly be a female Palmate Newt (T. helveticus). The females of both these species are very similar, especially during Summer and Autumn when they have left the water after egg laying and ‘dulled down’ their mating colours somewhat! Could you let me have a Grid reference or Postcode/address? If so I could narrow it down further (Palmate Newts are predominantly a Western species). If you want any general information on newts and reptiles, there is a specialist organisation called FROGlife (www.froglife.org) who, I believe, have some downloadable fact sheets which you may find of interest.”

Well done Angel!  I expect you’ll be wanting a prize!