There are three species of newt in Scotland:

The Palmate Newt
The Common or Smooth Newt
The Great Crested Newt
Of these the only one well distributed and common in the north-east is the Palmate Newt. In good years this is abundant and can be found in almost every puddle. It is easily distinguished from the other two- the end of the tail is a long flexible thread.

The other two are much more frequent in the south, though there are one or two remaining localities for Great Crested Newt in the north-east (perhaps introduced?)