I found this tiny red-spotted newt eft today.
It was only about two inches long, so it likely metamorphosed last year. Those are my fingers for size comparison.
The red-spotted newt is the local variant of the Eastern newt, which has three life stages.
The first stage is as larvae. Newt and salamander larvae resemble tadpoles with frilled gills.
They then metamorphose into this eft stage, which in this particular species is called a “red eft.” I personally think that “orange eft” would be better term, because these things look like they have been painted with bright orange paint. They are almost entirely aquatic.
After two or three years of wandering around as efts, they find a pond, where they turn into the adult newt. They lose their orange coloration, and become olive green in color.
In this particular subspecies, the efts and adults both have red spots on their back, which unfortunately do not show up in this video.
Love the wiggle on that tiny eft. Comical locomotion.