''Triturus macedonicus'', the Macedonian crested newt, is a

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

species of the crested newt

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

in genus ''Triturus'', found in the Western Balkan peninsula (

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, north-western

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and south-western

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

). To the North, its range borders that of the

Danube crested newt The Danube crested newt or Danube newt (''Triturus dobrogicus'') is a species of newt found in central and eastern Europe, along the basin of the Danube river and some of its tributaries and in the Dnieper delta. It has a smaller and more slender ...

and the

Northern crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

and to the East, that of the

Balkan crested newt The Balkan crested newt or Buresch's crested newt (''Triturus ivanbureschi'') is a newt species of the crested newt species complex in genus '' Triturus'', found in Southeastern Europe and Anatolia. It was originally described as a subspecies o ...

. It was first described as a variety of ''

Triturus karelinii The southern crested newt (''Triturus karelinii'') is a terrestrial European newt. It is similar to the northern crested newt (''Triturus cristatus'') except larger and more robust. In 2013, the Balkan-Anatolian crested newt (''Triturus ivanbure ...

'', later considered a subspecies of ''

Triturus carnifex The Italian crested newt (''Triturus carnifex'') is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. Habitat ''Triturus carnifex'' is found in parts of the Balkans and Italy. It is an aquatic breeder that can spend up to four months in the water. ...

'', and was elevated to species rank following

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis in 2007. ''Triturus arntzeni'' was considered a synonym of ''T. macedonicus'', but this name applies in fact to a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

between this species and the Balkan-Anatolian crested newt (''T. ivanbureschi''), and thus is a synonym of both species.

References

macedonicus Amphibians of Europe Amphibians described in 1922 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Salamandridae-stub