NEWT

[Heb., leta·ʼahʹ].

A small salamander or tailed amphibian, resembling a lizard but scaleless and covered with a soft, moist, thin skin. It is related to the frog and is listed among the unclean creatures of the Mosaic Law. (Le 11:29, 30) The banded newt (Triturus vittatus) of Asia Minor and Syria is distinguished by a black band along each side of its body. Bred in the water, it lives on land for two or three years after losing its gills, then returns to the water to live out the remainder of its life.