Newt.
This one spent a good half hour tumbling around in the warm sun at Banks Pond yesterday. Meanwhile two Emperors drove me to despair by not posing.
This also turned up which looking at the mouth parts may be a Leech although I stand to be corrected. Meanwhile however I shall not be dipping my toe in't water.
Lovely pictures of the newt - could it be one of this year's newt tadpoles, almost fully grown? It still has feathery external gills...... we've got some leeches like that in our garden pond - the books say they feed on pond snails but I never feel comfortable putting my hands in the water!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. Your comment prompted me to check on the metamorphosis of Newt and indeed by size it's probably 10-12 weeks old and shortly to absorb those external gills before emerging from the water for the first time. Perhaps this explains why it was tumbling around in the weed. Maybe the gills are irritable?
ReplyDeleteI think the Leech is a Horse Leech