The Balkan crested newt or Buresch's crested newt (''Triturus ivanbureschi'') 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 genus ''
Triturus'', found in Southeastern Europe and
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...
.
It was originally described as a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...
of the
southern crested newt
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 ...
, "''Triturus karelinii arntzeni''", in 1999,
and later considered a full species when genetic data showed it to be distinct.
After it was suggested the
type specimen of "''T. arntzeni''" belonged in fact to the
Macedonian crested newt
''Triturus macedonicus'', the Macedonian crested newt, is a newt species of the crested newt species complex in genus ''Triturus'', found in the Western Balkan peninsula (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, north-western Greece and sout ...
(''T. macedonicus''), the species was redescribed, with a new type specimen, as ''T. ivanbureschi'' in 2013. The
species epithet Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany)
A botanical name ...
was chosen in honour of Bulgarian herpetologist
Ivan Buresh Ivan Yosifov Buresh ( bg, Иван Йосифов Буреш; 27 December 1885 – 8 August 1980) was a Bulgarian zoologist and entomologist who has been dubbed "the patriarch of Bulgarian biology".
Ivan Buresh was born in Sofia, the capital of the ...
.
Its distribution ranges from the Southeastern Balkan peninsula (Western
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, Northwestern
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
,
Eastern Thrace
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
* China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
) to Western Anatolia. An isolated population, surrounded by other crested newt species, occurs in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...
.
Genetic data showed that Northern Anatolian populations east of the
Bosphorus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
and
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in t ...
form a separate, but morphologically indistinguishable
sibling species, which was described as
Anatolian crested newt
The Anatolian crested newt (''Triturus anatolicus'') is a newt species endemic to northern Anatolia in Turkey. Before its description in 2016, it was first considered to belong to the southern crested newt (''Triturus karelinii'') and then the ...
(''T. anatolicus'') in 2016.
The Balkan crested newt
hybridises with the Anatolian crested newt at its eastern range end.
At the western and northern borders, it hybridises with the Macedonian crested newt, the
Danube crested newt (''T. dobrogicus''), and the
northern crested newt (''T. cristatus'').
The type specimen of "''T. arntzeni''" is in fact a hybrid between the Balkan and the Macedonian crested newt, so that this name is a synonym for both species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14447954
Triturus
Amphibians of Europe
Amphibians described in 2013
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN