Neurergus strauchii (Steindachner, 1887)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Salamandridae > Subfamily: Pleurodelinae > Genus: Neurergus > Species: Neurergus strauchii

Molge strauchii Steindachner, 1887, Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Phys. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 96: 69, also Steindachner, 1887, Anz. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 24: 230. Syntypes: NHMW; NHMW 15079 designated lectotype by Schmidtler and Schmidtler, 1970, Senckenb. Biol., 51: 42. Type locality: "Musch [= Mush] westlich vom WanSee [= Lake Van]" (in both publications), eastern Anatolia, Türkiye.

Triton crocatus forma strauchiWolterstorff, 1926, Zool. Anz., 67: 1–6.

Neurergus crocatus strauchiiSchmidt, 1939, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 24: 52; Mertens, 1952, Istanbul Univ. Fen. Fak. Mec., Seri B, 17: 47.

Triturus crocatus strauchiiBodenheimer, 1944, Istanbul Univ. Fen. Fak. Mec., Seri B, 9: 7.

Neurergus strauchiiSchmidtler and Schmidtler, 1970, Senckenb. Biol., 51: 41; Schmidtler and Schmidtler, 1975, Salamandra, 11: 96.

Neurergus strauchii strauchiiÖz, 1994, Turkish J. Zool., 18: 115.

Neurergus strauchii barani Öz, 1994, Turkish J. Zool., 18: 115. Holotype: ZDEU 105/1992, by original designation. Type locality: "Kubbe Mountain on the Malatya--Pütürge road . . . ., approximately 40 km from Pütürge", southeastern Anatolia, Türkiye.

Neurergus (Musergus) strauchiiDubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 66.

Neurergus (Musergus) strauchii strauchiiDubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 66.

Neurergus (Musergus) strauchii barani — Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 66.

Neurergus strauchii munzurensis Olgun, Avcı, Bozkurt, Üzüm, Olgun, and Ilgaz, 2016, Russ. J. Herpetol., 23: 272. Holotype: Zoology Laboratory of the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Science and Arts, Adnan Menderes University unnumbered. Type locality: "20 km northeast of Tunceli Province, [Munzur Valley National Park,] Turkey". See comment. 

Neurergus barani — Rancilhac, Goudarzi, Gehara, Hemami, Elmer, Vences, and Steinfartz, 2019, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 133: 189. 

Neurergus (Musergus) munzurensis — Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 405. 

Neurergus (Musergus) barani — Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 403.

Common Names

Anatolia Newt (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 35).

Strauch's Spotted Newt (Dufresnes, 2019, Amph. Eur., N. Afr., & Middle East: 147). 

Munzur Newt (Neurergus strauchii munzurensisRaffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 405). 

Baran's Newt (Neurergus strauchii barani: Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 403).

Distribution

Known from southern and western sides of Lake Van, provinces of Van and Bitlis, Türkiye, 100 to 1900 m elevation; Munzur Valley National Park, 1003 m elevation, Tunceli Province, east-central Türkiye; Kubbe Mountain in Malatya to the west of the Euphrates river, southeastern Türkiye, ca. 2000 m elevation. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Türkiye

Endemic: Türkiye

Comment

See account by Thorn and Raffaëlli, 2000, Salamand. Ancien Monde: 345-346. Özeti and Yilmaz, 1994, Türkiye Amfibileri: 61-63, provided an account. Pasmans, Bogaerts, Woeltjes, and Carranza, 2006, Amphibia-Reptilia, 27: 281-288, discussed the subspecies and their weak morphological differentiation, although on the basis of molecular data they did find them (now Neurergus strauchii and Neurergus barani) to be sister taxa. Resurrected from the synonymy of Neurergus crocatus by Schmidtler and Schmidtler, 1970, Senckenb. Biol., 51: 41, where it had been placed by Boulenger, 1892, Zool. Rec., 27: 27. Raffaëlli, 2007, Les Urodèles du Monde: 120, provided brief accounts for subspecies, map, and photograph. Özdemir, Üzüm, Avcı, and Olgun, 2009, Herpetologica, 65: 280–291, discussed phylogeography and suggested that Neurergus strauchii barani is not distinguishable from Neurergus strauchi. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 143–144, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 262–265, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species (in the sense of including Neurergus barani). Olgun, Avcı, Bozkurt, Üzüm, Tural, and Olgun, 2015, Russ. J. Herpetol., 22: 289–296, provided new localities and discussed the range of the species in Türkiye (in the sense of considering Neurergus barani conspecific). Rancilhac, Goudarzi, Gehara, Hemami, Elmer, Vences, and Steinfartz, 2019, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 133: 189–197, recognized Neurergus strauchii barani as a distinct species and hinted that Neurergus strauchii munzurensis will likely also be so recognized (see Neurergus munzurensis). See Dufresnes, 2019, Amph. Eur., N. Afr., & Middle East: 147, for brief summary of identifying morphology and biology, a range map, as well as a photograph (see p. 203 for photographs and map of subspecies). Yaşar, Çiçek, Mulder, and Tok, 2021, North-West. J. Zool., Romania, 17(e201512): 232–275, discussed and grid-mapped the range in Türkiye. Yaşar, Çiçek, Mulder, and Tok, 2021, North-West. J. Zool., Romania, 17(e201512): 232–275, discussed and grid-mapped the range of nominal Neurergus barani in Türkiye. Kurnaz and Şahin, 2021, Turkish J. Zool., 45: 54–64, provided a niche modeling analysis which supported the recognition of Neuergus barani, distinct from Neurergeus strauchiiRaffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 402–405, provided accounts, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon maps) of nominal Neurergus munzurensis, Neurergus barani, and Neurergus strauchiiBozkurt, Kurnaz, Avcı, Şahin, Üzüm, and Olgun, 2025, J. Wildl. Biodivers., Arak, 9: 152–161, did not note the elevation of the Neurergus munzurensis by Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 405, to species level from a subspecies of Neurergus strauchii, but did find consistent morphological and genetic differences between their sample of (in their nomenclature) Neurergus strauchi strauchi and the allopatric Neurergus strauchi munzurensisArslan, Akdağ, Yaşar, Olivier, Benedetti, Morelli, and Çiçek, 2024, Nature Sci. Data, 11(292): 1–5, linked out (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6781260.v1) to a database of traits and localities in Turkey. Koster, Polanen, Avcı, Bogaerts, Bozkurt, Goudarzi, Hemami, Olgun, Pasmans, Steinfartz, Üzüm, de Visser, France, Theodoropoulos, and Wielstra, 2025, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 211(108386): 1–9, discussed molecular phylogenetics and discordance among phylogenetic methods within the species and subspecies of Neurergus and rejected the species (or subspecies) status of Neurergus barani and Neurergus munzurensis. 

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