The rarest newt species in the UK, it is particularly rare in Scotland. A large, quite spectacular animal, it can grow to a length of 17 cm which means that it can usually be easily identified by size alone. It has a granular skin (which is why it is also known as the warty newt) and the upper body is black or brownish. The belly is a beautiful, vivid yellow or orange with large black spots. The breeding male grows an impressive jagged crest. It is present at only a handful of sites in the Lothians and because of its rarity and international conservation importance it is the focus of much of the work we do in LARG. It is important to note that this species is so strictly protected that it is now illegal not only to kill, catch or sell them but also to disturb them or their habitat in any way. Even LARG members need a license to work with these animals. The general view is that we know the location of most of the local colonies but there may well be a few sites which we haven’t yet discovered and which may be threatened in some way.