Fauna of Scotland
Only six amphibians and four land reptiles are native to Scotland. The amphibians include three species of newt: the great crested, of which fewer than 1,000 individuals survive; the smooth, and the palmate. The other amphibians are the common toad, the natterjack toad, found in only four locations in the south-west, and the common frog. A single alien amphibian is known in Scotland, the Alpine newt, a recent escapee confined to the Edinburgh area.
Newt
Dialectal English and Scots also has the word "ask" (also "awsk, esk" in Scots) used for both newts and wall lizards, from Old English "āþexe", from Proto-Germanic "*agiþahsijǭ", literally "lizard-badger" or "distaff-like lizard" (compare German "Eidechse" and "Echse", both "lizard"; "*agi-" is ultimately cognate with Greek ὄφις "snake", from Proto-Indo-European "*h₁ogʷʰis"). Latin had the name "stellio" for a type of spotted newt, now used for species of the genus "Stellagama". Ancient Greek had the name κορδύλος, presumably for the water newt (immature newt, eft). German has "Molch", from Middle High German "mol", ":wikt:olm", like the English term of unknown etymology.