Eye of newt

[Deb London]

I found a Smooth Newt egg in my pond that was not sandwiched between two halves of a leaf. It gave me an opportunity to look at the development of the beast inside.

Seen from the top there seem to be two dorsal stripes:


I then viewed the egg from the side:


I think I can see gills; not sure. I cannot make out the eye. Does anyone know if it's there yet? I am assuming it is developing normally.

[Kayleigh]

Looks like its developing nicely Deb, great shot.

[The Woodman]

I agree, two interesting images there Deb - a good spot.

[Deb London]

I shall try and watch this egg to see if it is a good example of newt egg development, although without its protection I guess there is more chance that it gets eaten.

Thanks for the positive comments both.

[kathateria]

Ive never seen one, thanks for sharing.How big are they,to the naked eye?Do they hatch into fully formed babes,or little tadpole type swimmers? (newts are a bit foreign to me,never had them before,hence the new pond venture)
Will newts eat anything frog related,spawn or tadpoles?

[Deb London]

Hi Kath,

This one was about 3 mm. The larvae that hatch from these eggs remind me of small fish with feathery external gills (although I haven't seen one in my pond for years). I believe they have voracious appetites, but the tadpoles I have will be a match for them, they are enormous already. In fact, I fear for the newts.

There are lots of crustacea and larvae in the pond for them all to eat though. So I hope some of each survive. It's a jungle in there!

[GCN lova]

i think the eyes are closed in the second photo but im not an expert...

[Deb London]

Thanks GCN lova.

[GCN lova]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Thanks GCN lova.

welcome

[Dogghound]

Good spot Deb im not sure how many people appreciate how hard these are to find. Far harder than GCN.