The life cycle of a newt includes which stages?

The life cycle of a newt includes which stages?

• A. Egg stage; pupal stage; adult stage
• B. Egg stage; tadpole stage; adult stage
• C. Egg stage; larval stage (with gills); adult stage (with lungs)
• D. Egg stage; larval stage; juvenile stage

Answer: (C)

Newts undergo a two-phase life cycle typical of salamanders: they begin as eggs laid in water, hatch into an aquatic larval form that has gills, and then undergo metamorphosis to become an adult with lungs and legs. That sequence—egg stage, larval stage with gills, and adult stage with lungs—captures the essential progression and the major respiratory and structural changes from water-dwelling larva to air-breathing adult. The other options mix in stages that don’t belong to salamanders (a pupal stage is insect-like; a tadpole stage is characteristic of frogs; and a separate juvenile stage isn’t the standard depiction for this lifecycle).