Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Salamandridae > Subfamily: Pleurodelinae > Genus: Triturus > Species: Triturus cristatus

Lacertus aquatilis Garsault, 1764, Fig. Plantes et Animaux: pl. 674. Holotype: Animal figured on pl. 674 of the original publication. Type locality: Not stated, but presumably from the region of Paris, France. Nomen oblitum.

Triton cristatus Laurenti, 1768, Spec. Med. Exhib. Synops. Rept.: 39, 146. Type(s): Including specimens noted in "Acta regia Parisina an. 1729, Tab. XV, fig. 1 cum fusa descriptione" and "Wurfbain Tab. II, Fig. 3. 3. cum bona etiam descriptione pag. 65" [presumably the latter is Wurffbainus, 1683, Salamandrologia: pl. 2, fig. 3.3 and page 65]. Type locality: No geographic information, just "paludibus putridis"; designated by Mertens and Müller, 1928, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 41: 11, as "Nürnberg", Germany.

Triton americanus Laurenti, 1768, Spec. Med. Exhib. Synops. Rept.: 40. Type(s): Including specimen illustrated by Seba, 1734, Locuplet. Rer. Nat. Thesaur. Descript. Icon. Exp. Univ. Phys. Hist., 1: pl. 89, figs. 4 and 5. Type locality: Not given, but America by implication (and in error) of the formation of the species name. Synonymy by Schinz, 1822, Thierr. Naturgesch., 2: 184; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 19. Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 92, considered this synonymy provisional.

Salamandra platyura Daubenton, 1782, Encycl. Method., 1: XXX. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: Unknown. Synonymy by Schinz, 1833, Naturgesch. Abbild Rept.: 209; Bonaparte, 1832, Iconograph. Fauna Ital., 2 (Fasc. 1): 4; Bonaparte, 1840, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 2: 453; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 19; Dugès, 1852, Ann. Sci. Nat., Paris, Ser. 3, 17: 262; Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 132.

Salamandra cristata — Houttuyn, 1782, Verh. Zeeuwsch. Genootsch. Wetensch. Vlissingen, 9: 333; Schneider, 1799, Hist. Amph. Nat.: 57.

Lacerta lacustris Blumenbach, 1788, Handb. Naturgesch., Ed. 3: 269. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: None mentioned. Synonymy by Bonaparte, 1840, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 2: 453; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 19; Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 132. Non Triton alpestris lacustris Seliskar and Pehani, 1935.

Salamandra lati-caudata Bonnaterre, 1789, Tab. Encyclop. Method. Trois Reg. Nat., Erp.: 63. Type(s): Specimens figured in Fig. 11, a, b in the original publication. Type locality: "Les eaux flagnantes de l'Europe, de l'Asie, & de l'Afrique"; restricted to "Europa" by Mertens and Wermuth, 1960, Amph. Rept. Europas: 26. Synonymy with Triton cristatus by Leydig, 1867, Arch. Naturgesch., 33: 176; Bonaparte, 1840, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 2: 453; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 19.

Lacerta lacustris Gmelin, 1789, Syst. Nat., Ed. 13, 1(3): 1065. Composite substitue name for Salamandra palustris Laurenti, 1768, and Triton zeylanicus Laurenti, 1768, and many other Triton taxa suggested by Laurenti. Synonymy by Schinz, 1822, Thierr. Naturgesch., 2: 184; Dugès, 1852, Ann. Sci. Nat., Paris, Ser. 3, 17: 262; Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 49. Considered a synonym of Triton carnifex by Bonaparte, 1832, Iconograph. Fauna Ital., 2 (Fasc. 1): 4; Schinz, 1833, Naturgesch. Abbild Rept.: 212.

Gecko palustris — Meyer, 1795, Synops. Rept. Nov. Sist. Gen. Method.: 22.

Salamandra pruinata Schneider, 1799, Hist. Amph. Nat.: 69. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: Not stated; designated as "Frankfurt an der Oder [River], Deutschland [Germany]" by Mertens and Wermuth, 1960, Amph. Rept. Europas: 26. Synonymy by Bonaparte, 1832, Iconograph. Fauna Ital., 2 (Fasc. 1): 4; Leydig, 1867, Arch. Naturgesch., 33: 176; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 20 (who spelled it Salamandra pruniata); Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 132; Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 49 (who misspelled it Salamandra pruinosa); Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 8. Schinz, 1822, Thierr. Naturgesch., 2: 184, placed it as a synonym of both Lacerta lacustris and Lacerta palustris.

Lacerta triton Retzius, 1800, Fauna Svec., ed. 3, 1: 288. Substitute name for Triton cristatus Laurenti, 1768 and Triton parisinus Laurenti, 1768.

Lacerta porosa Retzius, 1800, Fauna Svec., ed. 3, 1: 288. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: Sweden. Synonymy by Bonaparte, 1840, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 2: 453; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 19; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 8.

Salamandra (Triton) cristata — Van der Hoeven, 1833, Handb. Dierkd., 2: 305.

Triton bibronii Bell, 1839, Hist. Brit. Rept.: 129. Type(s): "collection of the Zoological Society [of London]", now likely in the BMNH; see Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 20). Type locality: England. Synonymy by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 20; Dugès, 1852, Ann. Sci. Nat., Paris, Ser. 3, 17: 262; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 9.

Hemisalamandra cristata — Dugès, 1852, Ann. Sci. Nat., Paris, Ser. 3, 17: 262.

Triton asper Higginbottom, 1853, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 2, 12: 370. Type(s): Not stated; likely in BMNH if still extant. Type locality: "England". Secondary homonym of Hemitriton asper Dugès, 1852 (= Euproctus asper). Explicitly named as a synonym of Triton cristatus.

Triton blasii de l'Isle, 1862, Ann. Sci. Nat., Paris, Ser. 4, 17: 364. Syntypes: MNHNP 191 (2 specimens), according to Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 7; specimens reported by Guibé considered not to be types by Thireau, 1986, Cat. Types Urodeles Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Rev. Crit.: 19, who instead regarded MNHNP 5914, and 5915A as syntypes and who noted likely syntypes in the USNM (USNM 11011 [2 specimens] according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 27), and MCVR 343 (2 specimens). Type locality: "environs de Nantes", Loire-Atlantique, France. A hybrid (= Triturus cristatus male X Triturus marmoratus female) according to Peracca, 1886, Boll. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Univ. Torino, 1 (12): 12 (as suggested by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 11); Schreiber, 1912, Herpetol. Eur., Ed. 2: 47.

Triton cristatus var. icterica Reichenbach, 1865, Nova Acta Phys. Med. Acad. Caesar Leopold Carol., Halle, 32: 11. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist. Type locality: "Stadt Meissen", Germany. Distinctiveness of variety rejected by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 9.

Triton marmoratus var. blasii — Strauch, 1870, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, Ser. 7, 16 (4): 47.

Triton (Alethotriton) cristatus — Fatio, 1872, Fauna Vert. Suisse, 3: 520.

Triton (Alethotriton) marmoratus — Fatio, 1872, Fauna Vert. Suisse, 3: 532.

Triton (Alethotriton) cristatus cuclocephalus Fatio, 1872, Fauna Vert. Suisse, 3: 527. Type(s): Not stated; MHNG 718.96a designated lectotype by Schätti and Perret, 1997, Rev. Suisse Zool., 104: 358. Type locality: "de nos cantons septentrionaux et de presque tous les pays situés au nord des Alpes", Switzerland; restricted by Mertens and Wermuth, 1960, Amph. Rept. Europas: 26, to "nördliche Kantone der Schweiz". Considered identical to Triturus cristatus cristatus by Schätti, Perret, and Mariaux, 2002, Cat. Comm. Types Amph. Rept. Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve, Vers. 4.0 (Jan. 2002): 3.

Molge cristata — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 8.

Molge blasii — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 10.

Triton trouessarti Peracca, 1886, Boll. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Univ. Torino, 1 (12): 9. Type(s): Not designated but presumably in MZUT. Type locality: "Angers (dipartimento di Maine et Loire, Anjou, Francia)". Specifically named as one kind of hybrid between Triturus marmoratus and Triturus cristatus.

Molge blasiusi — Bedriaga, 1897 "1896", Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, N.S.,, 10: 194. Incorrect subsequent spelling of species name for Triton blasii de l'Isle, 1862.

Triton cristatus var. luteiventris Dürigen, 1897, Deutschl. Amph. Rept.: 620. Type(s): Not stated. Type locality: Deutschland [= Germany]; by implication.

Triton cristatus var. nigriventris Dürigen, 1897, Deutschl. Amph. Rept.: 620. Type(s): Not stated. Type locality: Deutschland [= Germany]; by implication.

Molge palustris var. olivacea Prazák, 1898, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 22: 233. Types: based on Triton cristatus var. a of Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 49. Type locality: Not designated although clearly in Bohemia. Tentatively placed on here on the strength of the placement of Triton cristatus of Schreiber.

Molge palustris var. leydigi Prazák, 1898, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 22: 233. Types: Not designated. Type locality: Not designated although clearly in Bohemia. Tentatively placed on here on the strength of the association of the original diagnosis with what is now Triturus cristatus.

Molge palustris var. sulfureo-gastra Prazák, 1898, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 22: 234. Types: based on the fictitious "Triton cristatus var. e" supposedly of Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 49. Type locality: Not designated although clearly in Bohemia. Tentatively placed on here on the strength of the association of the original diagnosis with what is now Triturus cristatus.

Molge palustris var. icterica Prazák, 1898, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 22: 234. Types: Not designated. Type locality: Not designated although clearly in Bohemia. Tentatively placed on here on the strength of the association of the original diagnosis with what is now Triturus cristatus.

Triton lobatus subsp. meridionalis Fatio, 1900, Rev. Suisse Zool., 8: 474. Types not designated, although likely originally in MHNG. Type locality: "Tessin", Switzerland. Preoccupied by Molge vulgaris meridionalis Boulenger, 1882. Synonymy by XXX.

Triton (Triton) cristatus — Wolterstorff, 1901, Feuille Jeunes Nat., Ser. 4, 31: 75.

Triton (Triton) Blasii — Wolterstorff, 1901, Feuille Jeunes Nat., Ser. 4, 31: 75.

Molge cristata var. flavigastra Fejérváry, 1909, Beitr. Herpetol. Rhônetales: 31. Type(s): Not stated. Type locality: "Sumpfstellen längs des Rhônebettes, nahe zu Colomby und Bex".

Triturus cristatus — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 453.

Triturus cristatus cristatus — Mertens, 1923, Senckenb. Biol., 5: 213.

Triton (Neotriton) blasii — Bolkay, 1927, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 39: 65. Bolkay, 1928, Z. Anat. Entwicklungesch., 86: 259.

Triton (Neotriton) cristatus cristatus — Bolkay, 1927, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 39: 65. Bolkay, 1928, Z. Anat. Entwicklungesch., 86: 259.

Triton intermedius Szeliga-Mierzeyewksi and Ulasiewicz, 1931, Trav. Soc. Sci. Wilno, Class. Sci. Math. Nat., 6: 19. Type(s): Not designated. Type locality: "Molodeczno" Province, Wojewodschaft, Wilno. Name provided for Triturus cristatus X Triturus vulgaris hybrid. Unavailable name for a hybrid and preoccupied by Triton vulgaris intermedia Kolombatovic, 1907, and Triturus cristatus danubialis var. intermedia Fuhn, 1953).

Triturus palustris — Flower, 1933, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1933: 837.

Triturus cristatus — Wolterstorff and Herre, 1935, Arch. Naturgesch., Leipzig, N. F., 4: 224.

Triturus (Triturus) cristatus — MacGregor, Sessions, and Arntzen, 1990, J. Evol. Biol., 3: 329. Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 67.

Common Names

Crested Newt (Triturus palustris [no longer recognized]: Flower, 1933, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1933: 837).

Common Warty-newt (Triton cristatus: Bell, 1839, Hist. Brit. Rept.: 119).

Great Water-newt (Triton cristatus: Bell, 1839, Hist. Brit. Rept.: 119).

Strait-lipped Warty-newt (Triton bibronii: Bell, 1839, Hist. Brit. Rept.: 129).

Crested Newt (Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 179; Hellmich, 1962, Rept. Amph. Eur.: 40; Steward, 1969, Tailed Amph. Eur.: 40).

Warty Newt (Arnold and Burton, 1978, Field Guide Rept. Amph. Brit. Eur.: 43; Stumpel-Rienks, 1992, Ergänzungsband Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., Trivialnamen der Herpetofauna Eur.: 65).

Great Warty Newt (Hellmich, 1962, Rept. Amph. Eur.: 40).

Northern Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus cristatus: Steward, 1969, Tailed Amph. Eur.: 40).

Northern Crested Newt (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 36; Arnold, 2002, Rept. Amph. Eur., Ed. 2: 43).

Great Crested Newt (Stumpel-Rienks, 1992, Ergänzungsband Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., Trivialnamen der Herpetofauna Eur.: 65; Kuzmin, 1999, Amph. Former Soviet Union: 174).

Distribution

Northern Europe from Britain and France, southern Norway, Sweden, and Finland, east to central Russia, and south to Switzerland, southeastern Germany, Slovakia, Romania, eastern Serbia and northwestern Bulgaria, and Ukraine.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Comment

Kuzmin, 1999, Amph. Former Soviet Union: 174–183, and Kuzmin, 2013, Amph. Former Soviet Union, Ed. 2: 98–102, provided  account for the former USSR. See brief account by Thorn and Raffaëlli, 2000, Salamand. Ancien Monde: 293–298. Arntzen and Wallis, 1999, Bijdr. Dierkd., 68: 181–203, reported on geographic variation. Lanza, 1983, Guide Reconoscimento Spec. Animali, Anf. Rett.: 73–75, reported on the Italian populations. Nöllert and Nöllert, 1992, Die Amph. Eur.: 219–224, Arnold, 2002, Rept. Amph. Eur., Ed. 2: 43, provided a brief account, figure, and map, as did Obst IN Engelmann, Fritzsche, Günther, and Obst, 1993, Lurche Kriechtiere Eur.: 99–101. Gislén and Kauri, 1959, Acta Vert., Stockholm, 1: 242–248, reported on Swedish populations. Pikulik, 1996, Zemnavodnyia Pauzuny: 121–123, provided an account for Belarus. See account by Arntzen, 2003, in Grossenbacher and Thiesmeier (eds.), Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., 4(IIA): 421–514. Raffaëlli, 2007, Les Urodèles du Monde: 113–114, provided a brief account, map, and photograph. Tzankov and Stoyanov, 2008, Salamandra, 44: 153–161, reported the species in northwestern Bulgaria. Babik, Pabijan, Arntzen, Cogǎlniceanu, Durka, and Radwan, 2009, Mol. Ecol., 18: 769–781, reported on the relationship of Pleistocene biogeography and allelic depletion. Arntzen and Smit, 2009, in Creemers and van Delft (eds.), Amph. Rept. Nederland: 105–113, provided a detailed account of the species in the Netherlands. Reviewed by Jehle, Thiesmeier, and Foster, 2011, The Crested Newt.: 1–152. Stojanov, Tzankov, and Naumov, 2011, Die Amph. Rept. Bulgariens: 104–109, provided a fairly detailed account and range map for Bulgaria. Wielstra and Arntzen, 2011, BMC Evol. Biol., 11(162): 1–8, reported ln the molecular phylogeography of the species and its near relatives. Cogǎlniceanu, Székely, Samoilă, Iosif, Tudor, Plăiaşu, Stănescu, and Rozylowicz, 2013, ZooKeys, 296: 35–57, provided a dot map for Romania. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 130–131, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 342–345, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species. Wielstra, Sillero, Vörös, and Arntzen, 2014, Amphibia-Reptilia, 35: 376–381, provided a dot map. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 342–345, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species. Arntzen, Wielstra, and Wallis, 2014, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 113: 604–622, reported on contract/hybrid zones with Triturus carnifex, dobrigicus, Triturus ivanbureschi, Triturus macedonicus, and Triturus marmoratus. Speybroeck, Beukema, Bok, and Van Der Voort, 2016, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Brit. Eur.: 97–101, provided a brief account and distribution map. Beebee, 2018, Herpetol. J., 28: 51–62, discussed genetic studies relating to conservation in Britain. See Dufresnes, 2019, Amph. Eur., N. Afr., & Middle East: 133, for brief summary of identifying morphology and biology, a range map, as well as a photograph. Haugen, Linløkken, Østbye, and Heggenes, 2020, Conserv. Genetics, 21: 515–530, reported on landscape genetics in southeastern Norway. Fahrbach, de Visser, and Wielstra, 2021, Salamandra, 57: 428–434, discussed the hybrid zone with Triturus carnifex in southeastern Germany. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 371–373, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map). Arntzen, 2023, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 138: 75–88, reported on a hybrid zone with Triturus marmoratus in western France. Naumov, Lukanov, Vacheva, and Slavchev, 2023, Acta Zool. Bulgarica, 75: 113–122, reported on distribution and ecology in Bulgaria. Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 67, briefly discussed location of paratypes of Triton blasii. de Brouwer, Helder, France, de Visser, Struijk, and Wielstra, 2023, Amphibia-Reptilia, 44: 19–26, noted an isolated population in the coastal dunes of the Netherlands that could not be determined whether introduced or naturally occurring and showing no admixture with Triturus carnifex. Gaczorek, Marszałek, Dudek, Arntzen, Wielstra, and Babik, 2023, Mol. Ecol., 32: 867–880, reported on introgression of the MHC gene across hybrid zones with Triturus ivanbureschi, Triturus macedonicus, and Triturus marmoratus. Berzin and Vershinin, 2022, Zool. Zh., 101: 1127–1135, reported on habitat and natural history in the Middle Urals, Russia. Arntzen, 2023, Frontiers Biogeograph., 15(3: e59627): 1–19, reported on the gradual replacement in western France of Triturus marmoratus by Triturus cristatus. Arntzen, 2024, Contrib. Zool., Amsterdam, 93: 445–465, reported on the genetics of hybridization with Triturus marmoratus.    

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