Help identifying this fella

[C R]

Just got back from the supermarket and noticed this stowaway in the pack of celery.

From the skin it looks like it is an amphibians, so I am guessing a newt. Nothing exotic though, as the celery comes from Cambridgeshire.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

If he had a numberplate on

 

[C R]

If he had a numberplate on

I should get nick what's 'is name on the case.

 

[classic33]

Palmate newt?

 

[biggs682]

Lightly fried it will be just like chicken

 

[C R]

Lightly fried it will be just like chicken

I should have added something to show the scale, it is actually tiny, half the length of my pinky.

I have actually had alligator, battered and deep fried, and it did indeed taste like chicken, though alligators are reptiles, so not good as a guide for what newt would taste like.

 

[MichaelW2]

You need to let Natural England know. They are the quango who can declare a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the salad aisle of Sainsburys.

 

[Cycleops]

That looks like a house gecko. We have loads of them here, they eat mosquitoes and other small insects. About the size of your thumbnail.
Also common to South east Asia and around the med. Don't know why one would turn up in Cambridgeshire.

 

[Buck]

I agree with @classic33 - it looks very much like a palmate newt. Common in the UK.



ETA : http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/6101/british-amphibians-palmate-newt/

we have them in our garden both in and around the pond

 

[HMS_Dave]

It's probably a common lizard.

 

[classic33]

You need to let Natural England know. They are the quango who can declare a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the salad aisle of Sainsburys.

Why not?
"Like all amphibians, it is listed as protected species in the Berne Convention (Appendix III), and it is legally protected by law in the countries it occurs in."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmate_newt

 

[C R]

I agree with @classic33 - it looks very much like a palmate newt. Common in the UK.



ETA : http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/6101/british-amphibians-palmate-newt/

we have them in our garden both in and around the pond

I've let it out next to a stream near us. I guess that it was hiding in the celery plant when the pickers came, and somehow survived the packing and transport process.

It is definitely an amphibian and not a reptile, as its skin is wet, and doesn't have scales.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I've let it out next to a stream near us. I guess that it was hiding in the celery plant when the pickers came, and somehow survived the packing and transport process.

It is definitely an amphibian and not a reptile, as its skin is wet, and doesn't have scales.

Aye then classic 'scythe wielding maniac' 33 is certainly on point. Haven't seen one a newt in a very long time.

 

[Reynard]

Could be a juvenile common lizard as common lizards do have a range of skin tones from biscuit coloured to quite dark. There's plenty of them around here in the fens. Likewise, there's plenty of celery.

 

[Mr Celine]

I have a newt in my garden pond. He's called Mr Small. I call him that because he's my newt.