Newts and lizards can be mistaken for each other, despite being very different. This guide, from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, explains how to tell them apart. <\/p>
Mistaking a lizard for a newt \u2013 or vice-versa \u2013 is a common mistake. They both have similar bodies, comprising four legs and a long tail and both sport a similar brown or black coloration.<\/strong><\/p>\n The general confusion between amphibians and reptiles<\/a> <\/strong>doesn\u2019t help. This quick guide will help you to identify the small, brown four-legged creature you\u2019ve spotted.<\/p>\n Newts are amphibians. This means that they live both on land and in freshwater at certain times of their lives.<\/p>\n Newts breed and spawn in ponds or other bodies of water during the spring and early summer. So, in the UK, if you find an animal resembling a lizard swimming in your garden pond, then it is likely a newt.<\/p>\n There are three native species of newt in the UK: the smooth, palmate and great crested. Great crested newts<\/a> look very different to the other two and are a lot rarer. All newts spend a fair amount of the year on land, which is when they tend to get confused with lizards. In this terrestrial phase, they lose their characteristic crests and breeding season coloration.<\/p>\n Lizards are reptiles. There are three species in the UK \u2013 the common lizard, the sand lizard<\/a> and the slow-worm. The slow-worm has no legs and is often mistaken for a snake, and the sand lizard is a rare species confined to scattered heathland sites in southern areas of England and Wales.<\/p>\n So, the common lizard is really the only lizard that could be misconstrued as a newt.<\/p>\n There are at least 7,000 different lizard species across the world, from the largest, the Komodo dragon<\/a> to the smallest<\/a>, a chameleon called Brookesia nana.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between newts and lizards?<\/h2>\n
What are newts?<\/h3>\n
What are lizards?<\/h3>\n