Newt
During the subsequent few months, the larvae undergo metamorphosis, during which they develop legs, and the gills are absorbed and replaced by air-breathing lungs. Some species, such as the North American newts, also become more brightly coloured during this phase. Once fully metamorphosised, they leave the water and live a terrestrial life, when they are known as "efts". Only when the eft reaches adulthood will the North American species return to live in water, rarely venturing back onto the land. Conversely, most European species live their adult lives on land and only visit water to breed.
Newt
Although some species, such as the rough-skinned newt ("Taricha granulosa") in North America or the smooth newt ("Lissotriton vulgaris") in Europe, are still relatively common, populations of newts throughout their distribution range suffer from habitat loss, fragmentation, and pollution. This affects especially the aquatic breeding sites they depend on, but also their land habitats. Several species, such as the Edough ribbed newt ("Pleurodeles poireti"), Kaiser's spotted newt ("Neurergus kaiseri"), or the Montseny brook newt ("Calotriton arnoldi") are considerered threatened by the IUCN, and the Yunnan lake newt is a tragic example of a newt species that has gone extinct recently.