Schmidtler's smooth newt

Schmidtler's smooth newt
Male during breeding season[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Salamandridae
Genus: Lissotriton
Species:
L. schmidtleri
Binomial name
Lissotriton schmidtleri
(Raxworthy, 1988)[2]
range in the Balkans and in Anatolia; hatching indicates unclear contact zones with L. graecus and L. vulgaris
Synonyms[3]
  • Triturus vulgaris schmidtleri Raxworthy, 1988
  • Triturus vulgaris schmidtlerorum Thorn and Raffaëlli, 2000

Schmidtler's smooth newt (Lissotriton schmidtleri) is a newt species found from northwestern Greece and southeast Bulgaria over East Thrace across the Bosphorus to northwest Anatolia.[1][4][5]: 234  Its range borders that of the smooth newt (L. vulgaris), the Greek smooth newt (L. graecus) and Kosswig's smooth newt (L. kosswigi) to the north, west, and east, respectively.[4]

Christopher Raxworthy described the species in 1988 as Triturus vulgaris schmidtleri, a subspecies of the smooth newt.[2] After genetic data had suggested the smooth newt was a complex of distinct lineages, Pabijan and colleagues recognised Schmidtler's smooth newt as distinct species in 2017.[6] This was followed by subsequent authors.[3][4]

The species differs from other species in the smooth newt species complex mainly in the male secondary characters during breeding season.[4] It is overall very similar to the smooth newt but rather small, with males reaching 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) length. The dorsal crest reaches 2 mm or more in height and is denticulated. The tail end is elongated but does not have a filament as in the neighbouring Kosswig's smooth newt. The body is slightly square-shaped but has no dorso-lateral folds. Toe flaps are only weakly developed.[2][5]: 234 

Paedomorphic adults have been reported for Schmidtler's smooth newt.[7]

The species's conservation status has not yet been evaluated separately from the smooth newt by the IUCN. Since its range is much smaller than that of the smooth newt species complex as a whole, it is likely to be more vulnerable than previously estimated.[1][4]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference WielstraBozkurt2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Raxworthy1988 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Frost2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference WielstraCanestrelli2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sparreboom2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference PabijanZielinski2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BozkurtTural2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).