The Smooth Newt
Surrey Life|March 2017

The smooth newt Surrey Wildlife Trust ranger Jamel Guenioui sheds light on a pond living creature with a flamboyant mating ritual.

Jamel Guenioui
The Smooth Newt

TAKE a torch and creep down to your local pond on a March evening and you may be lucky enough to spot one of our most flamboyant animals coming up for air. Smooth newts (aka common newts) belong to a family of salamanders that spend time on land but return to the water to reproduce – and now is the season for their singular mating ritual.

Smooth newts are slender and usually grow to about 10cm, with the tail accounting for about half of this. As their name suggests, they have smooth, permeable skin, which makes them vulnerable to pollution and desiccation, but in fact it is no smoother than the similar palmate newt.

This story is from the March 2017 edition of Surrey Life.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2017 edition of Surrey Life.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SURREY LIFEView All
The House That Rocks
Surrey Life

The House That Rocks

Transforming an impressive, seven-bedroom Victorian property in Dorking wasn’t without its challenges, but the result is a stunning family home that has had the interiors world raving

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
REMEDY FOR SUCCESS
Surrey Life

REMEDY FOR SUCCESS

Surrey’s Tracy Borman discusses the return of her heroine healer in the final book of her best-selling fictional trilogy

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
Love Celia
Surrey Life

Love Celia

Actress Celia Imrie has travelled the world for work and leisure but wherever she goes there is a part of her which is forever Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH
Surrey Life

EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH

Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton focuses on the Victorian roots of art activism

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
Electric dreams
Surrey Life

Electric dreams

The Range Rover plug-in hybrid brings silent electric motoring to this iconic luxury car

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
THE OPEN ROAD
Surrey Life

THE OPEN ROAD

Chris Pickering rounds up some of the best drives in Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield

With the North Downs looming nearby and glorious countryside surrounding it, Oxted is a town with real “escape from London” appeal and character, while nearby Limpsfield has a superb village vibe with its own community-run pub

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Artist to the stars
Surrey Life

Artist to the stars

Known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism’, Mickleham-based Sherree Valentine Daines is celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME
Surrey Life

A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME

The Signet Collection’s inaugural hotel project is a reimagining of a former royal guest house, situated directly opposite Hampton Court Palace

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe

On the banks of the River Wey, Godalming is a watercolour pretty town surrounded by pristine countryside and in-demand rural villages, such as Hascombe

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2020