The Zoochat Photographic Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe

[TeaLovingDave]

Prompted both by the fact that recent visits to Wroclaw and Plzen have allowed me to see a large number of European endemic reptile taxa which represented lifeticks for myself, and the fact that I felt like doing something a little different in tandem with the last few mammalian photographic guides, I've been mulling over doing a thread of this nature over the past month or so.

Given the fact that there are a rather ridiculous number of reptile and amphibian species - such that even a photographic guide to a single family would probably represent a mammoth undertaking - it moreover occurs to me that it is unlikely that a full-scale photographic guide project for these groups would be possible - as such, something on a smaller and more limited scale such as this is the best way forward between species photographed in captive collections, species photographed in the wild and species photographed at herpetocultural shows and conventions, I suspect we have a relatively-good level of representation for European herpetofauna in the Zoochat gallery, and given the large proportion of the site userbase resident in Europe I hope people will find it interesting to learn a little bit about our native species.

For the purposes of this thread, I will largely be following the taxonomy and nomenclature used within Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Britain and Europe (Speybroeck et al, 2016), with more recent taxonomic developments and discoveries followed where appropriate (and where I am aware of them!) - however, the remit of this thread will be slightly more inclusive than the aforementioned book, which did not cover the herpetofauna of the Canary Islands or Cyprus. Given the fact that several of the species which inspired me to write this thread were endemic to the Canary Islands, I thought it would be a shame to omit them!

Before I start the thread in earnest, a short index will follow listing the amphibian and reptile families which will be covered within this thread, along with an approximate number of taxa which will be covered within each family; it is worth noting here that species introduced in the modern era (such as the African Clawed Frog and Brahminy Flower Snake) will be omitted, although I may cover these and others in an appendix.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

AMPHIBIA


CAUDATA

Salamandridae - True Salamanders and Newts (c.30 species)

Plethodontidae -Lungless Salamanders (8 species)

Hynobiidae - Asiatic Salamanders (1 species)

Proteidae - Olm and Mudpuppies (1 species)

ANURA

Alytidae - Midwife Toads (4 species)

Discoglossidae - Painted Frogs (4 species)

Bombinatoridae - Fire-bellied Toads (3 species)

Pelobatidae - Spadefoot Toads (4 species)

Pelodytidae - Parsley Frogs (2 species)

Bufonidae - True Toads (c.8 species)

Hylidae - Tree Frogs (7 species)

Raniidae - True Frogs (c.20 species)



REPTILIA


TESTUDINES

Testudinidae - Tortoises (3 species)

Emydidae - Pond Turtles (1 species)

Geoemydidae - Terrapins (2 species)

Cheloniidae - Sea Turtles (2 species)

Dermatochelyidae - Leatherback Turtle (1 species)

GEKKOTA

Gekkonidae - True Geckos (2 species)

Sphaerodactylidae - Wonder Geckos and allies (1 species)

Phyllodactylidae - Wall Geckos (5 species)

SCINCOMORPHA

Scincidae - Skinks (13 species)

LACERTOIDEA

Lacertidae - True Lizards (c.70 species)

Blanidae - Mediterranean Amphisbaenians (3 species)

IGUANIA

Agamidae - Agamas (1 species)

Chamaeleonidae - Chameleons (2 species)

ANGUIMORPHA

Anguidae - Glass Lizards (6 species)

SERPENTES

Typhlopidae - Blind Snakes (1 species)

Erycidae - Sand Boas (1 species)

Colubridae - Colubrids (23 species)

Natricidae - Water Snakes (5 species)

Psammophiidae - African Sand Snakes (2 species)

Viperidae - Vipers (12 species)
.

 

[Yoshistar888]

Prompted both by the fact that recent visits to Wroclaw and Plzen have allowed me to see a large number of European endemic reptile taxa which represented lifeticks for myself, and the fact that I felt like doing something a little different in tandem with the last few mammalian photographic guides, I've been mulling over doing a thread of this nature over the past month or so.

Given the fact that there are a rather ridiculous number of reptile and amphibian species - such that even a photographic guide to a single family would probably represent a mammoth undertaking - it moreover occurs to me that it is unlikely that a full-scale photographic guide project for these groups would be possible - as such, something on a smaller and more limited scale such as this is the best way forward between species photographed in captive collections, species photographed in the wild and species photographed at herpetocultural shows and conventions, I suspect we have a relatively-good level of representation for European herpetofauna in the Zoochat gallery, and given the large proportion of the site userbase resident in Europe I hope people will find it interesting to learn a little bit about our native species.

For the purposes of this thread, I will largely be following the taxonomy and nomenclature used within Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Britain and Europe (Speybroeck et al, 2016), with more recent taxonomic developments and discoveries followed where appropriate (and where I am aware of them!) - however, the remit of this thread will be slightly more inclusive than the aforementioned book, which did not cover the herpetofauna of the Canary Islands or Cyprus. Given the fact that several of the species which inspired me to write this thread were endemic to the Canary Islands, I thought it would be a shame to omit them!

Before I start the thread in earnest, a short index will follow listing the amphibian and reptile families which will be covered within this thread, along with an approximate number of taxa which will be covered within each family; it is worth noting here that species introduced in the modern era (such as the African Clawed Frog and Brahminy Flower Snake) will be omitted, although I may cover these and others in an appendix.

There are a decent amount of very small, small or relativeley small families that contain <100 species. Examples would be giant salamanders, pythons, sunbeam snakes, dwarf boas (wood snakes), venomous lizards, varanids, sea turtles, boas and pythons, night lizards, crocodillians, tortoises in general, snapping turtles, mata mata and a lot more.

 

[nczoofan]

I don’t think that the relatively small diversity of Amphibians ever crossed my mind til now. Its crazy to think that their are more species native to my state, compared to all of Europe

 

[Merintia]

Very nice thread! In my area herp population have drastically declined along the last years . I´ll check my pictures and will upload what I have to the gallery.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

There are a decent amount of very small, small or relativeley small families that contain <100 species. Examples would be giant salamanders, pythons, sunbeam snakes, dwarf boas (wood snakes), venomous lizards, varanids, sea turtles, boas and pythons, night lizards, crocodillians, tortoises in general, snapping turtles, mata mata and a lot more.

Very true, but you'll have noticed that we have tried to only create threads which a) aren't too short b) deal with logical and encompassing groupings and c) don't raise the problem of future threads based around a monophyletic group having to omit a chunk of the group because someone already created a thread covering them and which aren't at the cutting edge of taxonomic discussion and hence out-of-date within months, as a crocodilian one might end up being!

So for instance, a thread on night lizards would only be four or five posts long, but would mean a hypothetical future thread on the Scincomorpha would either have to repeat itself or omit the group,

This isn't to say that a taxonomic photographic guide focusing on a reptile group won't be attempted at some point down the road, of course just that given the fact that doing one well, and planning how to approach the matter of which groups to tackle, would be somewhat trickier than the equivalent issue for mammals and birds!

 

[birdsandbats]

Very true, but you'll have noticed that we have tried to only create threads which a) aren't too short b) deal with logical and encompassing groupings and c) don't raise the problem of future threads based around a monophyletic group having to omit a chunk of the group because someone already created a thread covering them and which aren't at the cutting edge of taxonomic discussion and hence out-of-date within months, as a crocodilian one might end up being!

So for instance, a thread on night lizards would only be four or five posts long, but would mean a hypothetical future thread on the Scincomorpha would either have to repeat itself or omit the group,

This isn't to say that a taxonomic photographic guide focusing on a reptile group won't be attempted at some point down the road, of course just that given the fact that doing one well, and planning how to approach the matter of which groups to tackle, would be somewhat trickier than the equivalent issue for mammals and birds!

Um, didn't @Hipporex already do a crocodillian one?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I don’t think that the relatively small diversity of Amphibians ever crossed my mind til now. Its crazy to think that their are more species native to my state, compared to all of Europe

The relative paucity of amphibian and reptilian species in Europe as a whole is more-or-less the only reason something like this could be reasonably attempted a similar thread for even a single country such as India or China would be impossible.

Um, didn't @Hipporex already do a crocodillian one?

He did, but it was neither officially sanctioned nor accurate although it *was* reasonably good! However, as an indication of how fluid things are with that group at present, even if one ignores the details in the aforementioned thread which were inaccurate or outdated at the time it was posted, there have been further developments in crocodilian taxonomy in the past year.... most notably the description of Hall's Crocodile and the resulting boost to the probability that the Bornean Crocodile is a valid taxon.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Very nice thread! In my area herp population have drastically declined along the last years . I´ll check my pictures and will upload what I have to the gallery.

Excellent - given the fact that the Iberian Peninsula contains a relatively large number of endemic herps, even the smallest amount of help you can render will be extremely valuable!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

SALAMANDRIDAE


This family comprises approximately 70 species, within a total of 21 genera; of these, 28 species within 10 genera occur within Europe as follows:

Calotriton - Brook Newts (2 species, both of which are present within Europe)

Chioglossa - Gold-striped Salamander (monotypic)

Euproctus - Brook Salamanders (2 species, both of which are present within Europe)

Ichthyosaura - Alpine Newt (monotypic)

Lissotriton - True Newts (c.7 species, of which 5 are present in Europe)

Lyciasalamandra - Lycian Salamanders (7 species, of which 2 are present in Europe)

Pleurodeles - Ribbed Newts (3 species, of which one is present in Europe)

Salamandra - True Salamanders (6 species, of which four are present in Europe)

Salamandrina - Spectacled Salamanders (2 species, both of which are present in Europe)

Triturus - Crested and Marbled Newts (9 species, of which 8 are present in Europe)

.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Calotriton


Montseny Brook Newt (Calotriton arnoldi)

This Critically Endangered species is endemic to the Montseny Massif of Catalonia in north-east Spain, with the range highly-restricted to an area of approximately 25 square-kilometres; the species is strictly aquatic and limited to a small number of upland forest streams.

Monotypic; however, distinct western and eastern populations can be differentiated by visual appearance, and are divided by the Tordera River. The former are uniform brown with an olive tinge, sometimes with a white snout, whilst the latter possess additional yellow dorsal and lateral spots. Both populations are represented within the captive breeding programme:

Photo by @TeaLovingDave (western population)

Photo by @aim_foliksta (eastern population)

Pyrenean Brook Newt (Calotriton asper)

This species is endemic to the high altitude streams and lakes of the Pyrenees in northeast Spain, southwest France and Andorra, and is largely aquatic. The species is currently classified as Near-Threatened due to habitat loss.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Kakapo

,

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Chioglossa


Gold-striped Salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica)

The range of this species extends throughout the humid northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, from the extreme west of Cantabria in northern Spain to the Serra da Estrela of central Portugal; the species is primarily found in conditions of high humidity under stones and logs either within or close to fast-flowing water, generally in areas of thick vegetation and dense forest. Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Two subspecies are recognised:

C. l. lusitanica - resident to the southernmost portion of the species' range around the Serra da Estrela.
C. l. longipes - found throughout the remainder of the species' range.

No photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Euproctus


Corsican Brook Salamander (Euproctus montanus)

This species is endemic to Corsica, where it can be found throughout the island; however, it is particularly common in well-oxygenated rivers and streams flowing through the maquis shrublands and patchy woodlands of higher elevations.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Sardinian Brook Salamander (Euproctus platycephalus)

This species is endemic to Sardinia, where it is patchily distributed throughout the mountainous east of the island; it is possible that the species was more widespread prior to habitat loss, pollution and the introduction of predatory fish. The species is highly aquatic and largely found in fast-flowing rivers and streams located in maquis shrublands and oak forest. Classified as Endangered by the IUCN.

Monotypic.

Photo by @gulogulogulo

.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Ichthyosaura


Alpine Newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris)

This species is widespread throughout much of Europe, with populations occurring as far north as central Denmark, as far west as central Brittany and as far east as central Bulgaria, and south into central France, the Alps and the Balkans, extending into southern Greece in the southeast. Scattered disjunct populations occur in the Iberian Peninsula and central Italy, with introduced populations present in the British Isles, Netherlands and Germany.

This species is primarily found in upland areas, but can occur from sea level to the high mountain valleys of the Alps; breeding tends to occur in small and often temporary water bodies located in woodland and agricultural areas, although at higher altitudes above the tree line populations may live and breed in mountain lakes year-round.

At least six subspecies are recognised:

I. a. alpestris - found throughout northwest and central Europe, south to the Alps, Austria and the northern Carpathians.
I. a. apuana - occurs patchily throughout Italy south of the Alps, primarily in the Apennines.
I. a. cyreni - occurs throughout northwest Spain, with small introduced populations elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula.
I. a. montenegrina - resident to Montenegro.
I. a. reiseri - extends throughout the northern and central Dinaric Alps and the southern Carpathians into southern Serbia and western Bulgaria.
I. a. veluchiensis - extends from northern Albania into Greece as far south as the Peloponnese.

Populations in the Romanian Carpathians may represent an additional subspecies, and require further study.

Photo by @Macaw16 (I. a. alpestris)

Photo by @gulogulogulo (I. a. apuana)

Photo by @vogelcommando (I. a. reiseri)

Photo by @nikola (no subspecies specified)

.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Lissotriton


Bosca's Newt (Lissotriton boscai)

This species is widespread throughout much of the western Iberian Peninsula, from northwest Cantabria in the north to western Andalusia in the south, and extending eastwards through the Sistema Central.

This species inhabits a wide range of habitats throughout its range, including agricultural land, forest and heathland, from sea level to the high central mountains, and is primarily terrestrial outside the breeding season, when it tends to reproduce in slow-moving streams, ponds and temporary bodies of water. However, populations in northern Spain may remain aquatic year-round.

Currently recognised as monotypic; however, a 2019 genetic study suggests the presence of a cryptic species (L. malzani) in southern Portugal.

Photo by @Maguari

Palmate Newt (Lissotriton helveticus)

This species is widespread throughout western Europe, from the British Isles in the north and the northern Iberian Peninsula in the south, eastwards throughout France and Belgium into central and northern Germany, Switzerland, and easternmost Czech Republic.

This species tends to inhabit agricultural and lightly-wooded habitats, often in hilly or otherwise irregular terrain, from sea level to the high temperate valleys of the Pyrenees and Alps, and is primarily terrestrial outside the breeding season. Breeding activity may occur in any available small bodies of water, especially ponds, ditches, slow-moving streams, flooded fields and upland wetlands.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Merintia

Italian Newt (Lissotriton italicus)

This species extends throughout southern Italy, extending as far north as central Marche and southern Lazio. Although primarily terrestrial outside the breeding season, with populations in uplands and more arid areas hibernating/aestivating in the winter, populations in lowland areas can be active in aquatic habitats year-round; as with the Palmate Newt, breeding can occur in any available body of water.

Although currently classified as monotypic, preliminary genetic studies suggest the presence of two distinct populations - however, any morphological differences between these populations are unclear. No photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Montandon's Newt (Lissotriton montandoni)

This species is endemic to the Carpathian and Tatra mountains, with its range extending from southern Poland and adjacent southeast Czech Republic in the west to western Ukraine in the east, and south from here into central Romania. During the breeding season, the species can be found in small and often temporary bodies of water throughout this range, such as ponds, ditches, flooded meadows and marshland, whilst outside of this timespan it is primarily terrestrial.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)

This species extends throughout much of Europe, from northern France and the British Isles in the west to northern Ukraine and western Russia in the east, and south throughout northern Italy and the Balkans into Asia Minor; largely absent from the Alps and northern Scandinavia, and entirely so in southern France and the Iberian Peninsula. As with congeners, the species is largely terrestrial outside the breeding season, and is commonplace throughout lowlands and agricultural land throughout its range; during the breeding season it is primarily found within permanent bodies of water such as lakes, ponds and slow-flowing rivers, but can also be found in flooded meadows and pastures.

Seven subspecies are currently recognised, five of which are present within Europe; the differences between subspecies are primarily genetic, but they can be distinguished to some extent through morphological differences in male secondary sexual characteristics:

L. v. vulgaris - extends throughout northern Europe, and patchily south through eastern Europe into the northern Balkans.
L. v. ampelensis - extends throughout much of eastern Europe, from Romania and eastern Hungary south into northern Serbia and east into southwest Ukraine.
L. v. graecus - extends throughout the Balkans, from southern Croatia in the north to the Peloponnese of Greece in the south, and east into southwest Bulgaria; this taxon may comprise a distinct species, and is recognised as such by some authorities.
L. v. meridionalis - extends from southernmost Switzerland throughout northern and central Italy south of the Alps, and east into Slovenia and western Croatia.
L. v. schmidtleri - extends from northeast Greece into Thracian Turkey and central Bulgaria; this taxon may comprise a distinct species, and is recognised as such by some authorities.

Photo by @nikola (L. v. vulgaris)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Lyciasalamandra


Karpathos Salamander (Lyciasalamandra helverseni)

This species is endemic to the Greek Aegean islands of Karpathos, Kasos and Saria, where it tends to occupy Mediterranean maquis, open pine forests and rocky upland agricultural areas, occuring in high densities where conditions are suitable. However, it is seldom seen above ground, generally only doing so during the winter months when conditions are cooler with higher levels of rain. The species is viviparous and hence breeds on land. Classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Luschan's Salamander (Lyciasalamandra luschani)

Within Europe, the range of this species is restricted to the Greek islet of Kastellorizo, a mile or so offshore from the Lycian coastline of Turkey; however, the species extends throughout much of coastal Lycia itself. On Kastellorizo, the species occupies the karstic outcroppings found throughout the islet, where it tends to remain underground outside the winter months. The species is viviparious and breeds on land.

Three subspecies are recognised, of which one is present in Europe:

L. l. basoglui - Endemic to Kastellorizo.

No photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.

.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Pleurodeles


Iberian Sharp-ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)

Within Europe, the range of this species extends throughout much of the central and southern Iberian Peninsula outside of the high mountain ranges, with populations also being found throughout northern Morocco. The species is highly-aquatic, and prefers cool, deep and dark habitats such as well-vegetated ponds, wells and slow-moving rivers, although it may also be found in flooded ditches, marshland and brackish lagoons.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ituri

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Salamandra


Alpine Salamander (Salamandra atra)

This species extends throughout much of the Alps from eastern France in the west through Switzerland, northern Italy and southern Germany to northeast Austria in the east, and south from here into northern Slovenia; fragmented and disjunct populations extend into the Dinaric Alps of the western Balkans as far south as northern Albania. Throughout much of this range, the species tends to inhabit rocky alpine meadows and the margins of beech and mixed woodland, and is strictly nocturnal at lower altitudes, with populations at higher altitudes occasionally active during the day during periods of rain or high humidity; populations in the Dinaric Alps are almost entirely present in rocky habitats above the treeline. The species is entirely viviparous.

Four subspecies are recognised:

S. a. atra - found throughout the Alps to northern Slovenia.
S. a. aurorae - endemic to the Asiago Plateau in the Dolomites of north-central Italy.
S. a. pasubiensis - endemic to the Pasubio Massif in the Dolomites of north-central Italy.
S. a. prenjensis - found patchily throughout the Dinaric Alps from central Slovenia to northern Albania.

Photo by @Kakapo (S. a. atra)

Corsican Fire Salamander (Salamandra corsica)

This species is endemic to Corsica, where it ranges throughout the deciduous mountain forests of the island. The species is largely nocturnal, except during periods of high humidity and rain when it may become diurnal. Although largely ovoviviparous, entering water only to deposit fully-formed larvae, it is capable of viviparity during periods of drought or a lack of suitable water bodies.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Lanza's Salamander (Salamandra lanzai)

This species is endemic to a small region of the Cottian Alps on the Franco-Italian border, where it primarily inhabits subalpine meadows and woodland margins. The species is primarily nocturnal, but may become diurnal during periods of heavy rain, and is entirely viviparous. This species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

This species is widespread throughout the majority of Europe, although absent from the British Isles, Scandinavia and much of eastern Europe, and only patchily present in regions bordering the Mediterranean. The species primarily resides in and around decidious woodlands with access to small rivers and streams in hilly uplands, with populations in the Mediterranean also recorded from maquis shrubland and open orchards; as the species is ovoviviparous, it is predominantly terrestrial but requires access to water bodies such as ponds, streams, wells and ditches to deposit fully-formed larvae. Certain populations in the Iberian Peninsula are entirely viviparous.

Approximately 12 subspecies are recognised:

S. s. salamandra - extends throughout the Balkans and patchily north into the Carpathian Mountains and adjacent areas of eastern and central Europe, and west into central Germany, the Alps and northern Italy.
S. s. almanzoris - largely restricted to high altitude regions of the Sierra de Gredos and Guadarrama in central Spain, with scattered and isolated populations in the surrounding lowlands.
S. s. bejarae - extends throughout the lower-altitude regions of the Sistema Central in central Spain, and into mountainous regions further south.
S. s. bernardezi - extends throughout much of northwestern Spain, from the extreme north of Galicia in the west, through Asturias into western Cantabria in the east.
S. s. crespoi - extends throughout southern Portugal, as far north as the Lisbon Peninsula and as far east as the Guadiana River.
S. s. fastuosa - extends throughout the western and central Pyrenees, and south into immediately-adjacent regions of northern Spain.
S. s. gallaica - extends throughout northwest Spain into northern and central Portugal, from Galicia in the north to the Tagus Estuary in the south.
S. s. gigliolli - extends throughout much of western and central Italy, extending as far north as Liguria.
S. s. longirostris - restricted to the hills and mountains of Cadiz and Malaga in southern Spain; sometimes recognised as a distinct species.
S. s. morenica - largely restricted to the Sierra Morena and surrounding isolated mountain massifs throughout southern and southeast Spain, from northern Andalucia into Murcia and Valencia.
S. s. terrestris - extends throughout western Europe, from the eastern Pyrenees and northeast Spain in the south to Belgium in the north, and east from here into Switzerland and much of western Germany.
S. s. werneri - restricted to the Peloponnese of southern Greece.

Photo by @Tomek (S. s. salamandra)

Photo by @MagpieGoose (S. s. fatuosa)

Photo by @MennoPebesma (S. s. gallaica)

Photo by @JigerofLemuria (S. s. terrestris)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Salamandrina


Northern Spectacled Salamander (Salamandrina perspicillata)

This species extends throughout the Apennine Mountains and surrounding hills of northwest and central Italy, from central Liguria in the north to northern Campania in the south. The species tends to inhabit deciduous forest and woodland in hilly or mountainous terrain with a high amount of leaf-litter, rocks, logs and other cover, although steep mountain valleys occurring in maquis scrubland may also be occupied, and is almost entirely nocturnal. The species is terrestrial outside the breeding season, where it requires well-oxygenated flowing water such as streams, springs and deep wells in order to breed.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Southern Spectacled Salamander (Salamandrina terdigitata)

This species extends throughout southern Peninsular Italy from as far north as central Campania, and is entirely absent from Sicily. As as the case with its congener, the species is nocturnal and occupies deciduous woodland and maquis scrubland in mountainous and hilly terrain, where it preferentially breeds in well-oxygenated environments such as those discussed above.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Triturus


Italian Crested Newt (Triturus carnifex)

This species extends throughout Peninsular Italy, north from here into southern Switzerland and much of southern, central and eastern Austria, and east through Slovenia into the northwest Balkans as far south as northern Bosnia. The species is aquatic during the breeding season, at which time it occurs in any suitable body of water from deep ponds and marshes to ditches, slow-flowing streams, cattle troughs and flooded fields, within both lowland agricultural areas and more irregular hilly or mountainous terrain; outside the breeding season the species is terrestrial and remains close to the breeding area, using rocks and logs as cover.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus)

This species extends throughout much of northern Europe, from the British Isles and northern France in the west, through central and eastern Europe, to western Russia in the east, with northern populations extending into southern Scandinavia, and southern populations extending into the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, and throughout Romania in the southeast. The species is aquatic during the breeding season, at which time it tends to occur in deep, well-vegetated bodies of water such as ponds, marshes and lakes, generally in or around agricultural areas; outside the breeding season the species is terrestrial but remains close to water under logs, rocks and rotting vegetation.

Monotypic; in the zones where this species overlaps with congeners there is a high level of hybridisation and resulting morphological integradation, which has led to the erroneous recognition of a number of subspecies beyond those which have been granted distinct species status.

Photo by @Maguari

Danube Crested Newt (Triturus dobrogicus)

This species extends throughout the Danube floodplain and surrounding regions of central and eastern Europe, from eastern Austria and Hungary in the west to southwest Ukraine, southern Moldova and southern Romania in the east; a disjunct population occurs in south-central Ukraine. The species is aquatic during the breeding season, primarily occupying deep, vegetated habitats such as rivers and associated deep ponds and ox-bow lakes, with terrestrial populations remaining close to these habitats outside the breeding season.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Buresch's Crested Newt (Triturus ivanbureschi)

This species occurs throughout the eastern Balkans, from northwest Bulgaria and central Serbia in the north to northeast Greece and Thracian Turkey in the south. The species is aquatic during the breeding season, at which time it occurs in any suitable location from ponds and lakes to ditches, marshes, flooded fields and other less-permanent bodies of water, whilst outside the breeding season the species is terrestrial but remains close to the breeding habitats.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Karelin's Crested Newt (Triturus karelini)

Within Europe, the range of this species is restricted to a small portion of the southern Crimea; elsewhere the species extends throughout the Caucasus and into northern Iran. The species is aquatic during the breeding season, breeding opportunistically in any available water bodies, including ponds, lakes, marshes and ditches, with individuals moving to a more terrestrial lifestyle - but remaining undercover close to the breeding sites - outside of the breeding season.

Monotypic; photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery but pertain to captive populations which date to before T. ivanbureschi, T. macedonicus and T. anatolicus were reclassified as distinct species, and therefore they *may* pertain to one of these taxa.

Photo by @Javan Rhino

Macedonian Crested Newt (Triturus macedonicus)

This species occurs throughout much of the western Balkans, from eastern Bosnia & Herzegovina and west-central Serbia in the north to central Greece and Corfu in the south.
The species is aquatic during the breeding season, at which time it occurs in any suitable location from ponds and lakes to ditches, marshes, flooded fields and other less-permanent bodies of water, whilst outside the breeding season the species is terrestrial but remains close to the breeding habitats.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus)

This species occurs throughout much of southwest Europe, from central and western France in the north, through the Pyrenees into the northern and central Iberian Peninsula as far south as the Sierras de Guadarrama, Gredos and Gata. Introduced populations exist in the Netherlands, where hybridisation between this species and T. cristatus is recorded. The species is primarily terrestrial, but some populations spend the majority of the year in aquatic habitats; when in a terrestrial phase it tends to inhabit in forests, heathland and agricultural land in hilly or mountainous land, and tends to breed opportunistically in available temporary water bodies such as flooded fields, ditches and ponds.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Merintia

Southern Marbled Newt (Triturus pygmaeus)

This species occurs throughout central and southern Portugal and adjacent regions of southwest Spain, from the Sierras de Guadarrama, Gredos and Gata in the north, south to south-central Andalusia. The species is primarily terrestrial, occurring from sea-level dune habitats to mountainous forests, heathland and agricultural land, but spends the breeding season - which occurs in the winter - in aquatic habitats; during the breeding season it tends to breed opportunistically in both temporary water bodies such as ditches, pools, flooded fields and cattle troughs, and more permanent large ponds and slow-moving rivers.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
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