Reptiles and Amphibians
There are a number of different reptiles that can be seen in the Ffos-y-fran area such as newts, lizards and frogs.
Newts
There are two types of newt that will be found in and around Ffos-y-fran, the Great Crested newt and the palmate newt.
The palmate newt: The females have olive green or light brown skin with dark green speckles. The male also has olive green skin and is covered in spots. Both sexes have orange bellies with a white border and a white unspotted throat. The males can be distinguished from females by their dark grey/black webbed back feet, a low smooth crest running along their backs and a tail that ends in a fine filament. The can live up to 10 years and feed on insects and worms on land and insect larvae, water snails and frog tadpoles in the water. Palmate newts like to live in still, shallow water, such as ponds, lakes and canals. When living out of water they can be found in gardens, woodland, farms and heathland. They hibernate from November to late February/March, preferring to hibernate beneath stones, or compost heaps, young adults may also hibernate in the mud of pond beds.
The Great Crested Newt: The great crested newt has dark grey-brown backs and flanks, and are covered with darker coloured spots so that they appear almost black in colour. They have fine white spots on their lower flanks, which are more obvious in breeding males. The undersides of both males and females are either yellow or orange in colour and covered in large black blotches. Males can be distinguished by the presence of a jagged crest that runs along their backs. They also have a silver-grey that runs along the tail whereas females have a yellow-orange stripe along the lower edge of their tails. It is possible for great crested newts to live for up to 27 years. The diet of larval newts consists of tadpoles, worms, insects and insect larvae. Adult newts hunt in ponds for other newts, tadpoles, young froglets, worms, insect larvae and water snails. They can also hunt on land for insects, worms and other invertebrates. Great crested newts are nocturnal, hiding on land during the day in burrows or under logs, stones and vegetation. They hibernate from October to late February. The great crested newt is protected under government legislation, it is illegal to catch, possess or handle the newts without a licence and it is illegal to cause them harm or death or to disturb their habitat in any way.
Common Lizard:Common lizards have long bodies and short legs. They have coarse scales which range from grey, brown, bronze or green on the back, and males are generally darker than females. They have a series of white spots down the flanks, which fuse to form a line, and a black line along the back. Common lizards also have numerous black spots scattered over the body. Males have orange/yellow bellies with black spots and females have cream/white bellies. Common lizards have the ability to shed their tails in order to fool predators when threatened. They are found in a range of habitats including woodland, marshes, heathland, moors, sand dunes, hedgerows, bogs and rubbish dumps. Common lizards hunt insects, spiders, snails and earthworms. They stun their prey by shaking it, and then swallow it whole.