Triturus
6 species
Triturus is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase.
Crested and marbled newts live and breed in vegetation-rich ponds or similar aquatic habitats for two to six months and usually spend the rest of the year in shady, protection-rich land habitats close to their breeding sites. Males court females with a ritualised display, ending in the deposition of a spermatophore that is picked up by the female. After fertilisation, a female lays 200–400 eggs, folding them individually into leaves of water plants. Larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into land-dwelling juveniles.
Historically, most European newts were included in the genus, but taxonomists have split off the alpine newts (Ichthyosaura), the small-bodied newts (Lissotriton) and the banded newts (Ommatotriton) as separate genera. The closest relatives of Triturus are the European brook newts (Calotriton). Two species of marbled newts and seven species of crested newts are accepted, of which the Anatolian crested newt was only described in 2016. Their ranges are largely contiguous but where they do overlap, hybridisation may take place.
Although not immediately threatened, crested and marbled newts suffer from population declines, caused mainly by habitat loss and fragmentation. Both their aquatic breeding sites and the cover-rich, natural landscapes upon which they depend during their terrestrial phase are affected. All species are legally protected in Europe, and some of their habitats have been designated as special reserves.
Crested and marbled newts are found in Eurasia, from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to West Siberia and the southern Caspian Sea region in the east, and reach north to central Fennoscandia. Overall, the species have contiguous, parapatric ranges; only the northern crested newt and the marbled newt occur sympatrically in western France, and the southern crested newt has a disjunct, allopatric distribution in Crimea, the Caucasus, and south of the Caspian Sea.
The northern crested newt is the most widespread species, while the others are confined to smaller regions, e.g. the southwestern Iberian Peninsula in the southern marbled newt, and the Danube basin and some of its tributaries in the Danube crested newt. The Italian crested newt (T. carnifex) has been introduced outside its native range in some European countries and the Azores. In the northern Balkans, four species of crested newt occur in close vicinity, and may sometimes even co-exist.: 11
Triturus species usually live at low elevation; the Danube crested newt for example is confined to lowlands up to 300 m (980 ft) above sea level. However, they do occur at higher altitudes towards the south of their range: the Italian crested newt is found up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in the Apennine Mountains, the southern crested newt up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the southern Caucasus, and the marbled newt up to around 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in central Spain.
Triturus is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase.
Crested and marbled newts live and breed in vegetation-rich ponds or similar aquatic habitats for two to six months and usually spend the rest of the year in shady, protection-rich land habitats close to their breeding sites. Males court females with a ritualised display, ending in the deposition of a spermatophore that is picked up by the female. After fertilisation, a female lays 200–400 eggs, folding them individually into leaves of water plants. Larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into land-dwelling juveniles.
Historically, most European newts were included in the genus, but taxonomists have split off the alpine newts (Ichthyosaura), the small-bodied newts (Lissotriton) and the banded newts (Ommatotriton) as separate genera. The closest relatives of Triturus are the European brook newts (Calotriton). Two species of marbled newts and seven species of crested newts are accepted, of which the Anatolian crested newt was only described in 2016. Their ranges are largely contiguous but where they do overlap, hybridisation may take place.
Although not immediately threatened, crested and marbled newts suffer from population declines, caused mainly by habitat loss and fragmentation. Both their aquatic breeding sites and the cover-rich, natural landscapes upon which they depend during their terrestrial phase are affected. All species are legally protected in Europe, and some of their habitats have been designated as special reserves.
Crested and marbled newts are found in Eurasia, from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to West Siberia and the southern Caspian Sea region in the east, and reach north to central Fennoscandia. Overall, the species have contiguous, parapatric ranges; only the northern crested newt and the marbled newt occur sympatrically in western France, and the southern crested newt has a disjunct, allopatric distribution in Crimea, the Caucasus, and south of the Caspian Sea.
The northern crested newt is the most widespread species, while the others are confined to smaller regions, e.g. the southwestern Iberian Peninsula in the southern marbled newt, and the Danube basin and some of its tributaries in the Danube crested newt. The Italian crested newt (T. carnifex) has been introduced outside its native range in some European countries and the Azores. In the northern Balkans, four species of crested newt occur in close vicinity, and may sometimes even co-exist.: 11
Triturus species usually live at low elevation; the Danube crested newt for example is confined to lowlands up to 300 m (980 ft) above sea level. However, they do occur at higher altitudes towards the south of their range: the Italian crested newt is found up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in the Apennine Mountains, the southern crested newt up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the southern Caucasus, and the marbled newt up to around 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in central Spain.
