Adults: Aquatic adults are olive to brown above and yellow below, with black dots scattered over the back, belly, and tail and one or two dorsolateral rows of small red spots. The tail is vertically flattened. Breeding males develop high, rounded tail fins.

Larvae: Efts are bright orange or red with a light-colored belly, and have a rough, warty skin. Transforming efts are colored much like the adults (perhaps darker), but lack the flattened tail and have a rough, warty skin (migrating or aestivating adults can take on a similar appearance).

Habitat: Adults are most commonly found in small, densely vegetated ponds, but can also be found in shallows of large lakes, river sloughs and backwaters, and swamps and marshes. Efts are found under rocks and logs in forested areas near the breeding ponds.

Ecology: Adults and larvae eat crustaceans, aquatic insects, and mollusks. Terrestrial efts eat insects, snails, worms, and other small invertebrates. Newts have a rather complicated life history. Efts may spend up to seven years on land before they transform into aquatic adults.

Reproduction: Breeding takes place in late fall through spring (like other salamanders, fertilization is internal). The eggs are attached singly to underwater vegetation in the spring. The incubation period lasts approximately a month, and the aquatic larvae transform into terrestrial juveniles by late summer.