Whilst surveying the Bell Lane Local Nature Reserve in Staplehurst this spring I was pleased to find small numbers of palmate newt in an area which is dominated by smooth and great crested newts.  A greater surprise, however, was what appeared to be a smooth x palmate newt hybrid in one of my bottle traps.  This animal, a male, had a filament on the tail, a low crest and the rather square cross-sectional shape of a palmate newt.  The tail was broadly similar in colouration to a male palmate, although it had an orange margin along the underside.  The upper body colour was more typical of a male smooth newt, however, as was the throat and belly which were marked with large blotches, although these looked more washed-out compared to a normal male smooth newt.  The hind feet resembled neither species.  There were no toe fringes, and only slightly developed rather translucent webbing, with a strong pink colouration to the limbs.  The specimen was larger than the other palmate newts found in the pond.