The Greek smooth newt or Greek newt (''Lissotriton graecus'') 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 found in the southern

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, from southern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

) over

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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 ...

and

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 ...

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-westernmost

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 ...

.. An introduced population exists in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, close to Vienna.

Taxonomy

Willy Wolterstorff Willy Georg Wolterstorff (16 June 1864 in Calbe – 21 January 1943 in Magdeburg) was a German paleontologist and herpetologist. As a child he lost his hearing due to disease, thus finding it necessary to lip-reading, lip-read from an early ag ...

described the species in 1906 as ''Triton vulgaris graeca'', a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

smooth newt The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt (''Lissotriton vulgaris'') is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced species, introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown ...

. After genetic data had suggested the smooth newt was a

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

of distinct lineages, Dubois and Raffaëlli, in 2009, recognised several subspecies, including the Greek smooth newt, as distinct species. This was followed by subsequent authors.

Molecular phylogenetics 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 ...

suggested that the closest relative of the Greek smooth newt is Kosswig's smooth newt (''Lissotriton kosswigi'') from northwestern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Description

The species differs from other species in the smooth newt species complex mainly in the male secondary characters during breeding season. The male dorsal crest is less than 1 mm high and has smooth edges. The belly has many small spots, but the lower tail fin is usually unspotted. The well-developed dorso-lateral folds give the body a square shape. Toe flaps on the hind feet are well developed.

Conservation status

It is assessed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

globally in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and supposed tolerance of a broad range of habitats. However, there is evidence that, in some large parts of the range, it is declining fast due to anthropogenic alterations (pollution, drying out of its habitat due to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, destruction of its habitat for commercial and touristic development, introduction of

alien species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

, etc.). The species has been negatively impacted by the introduction of fish, particularly in the northern part of its range in

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References

Lissotriton Amphibians of Europe Amphibians described in 1906 {{Salamandridae-stub