''Lissotriton'' is a genus of
newts native to
Europe and parts of
Asia Minor. As most other newts, they are aquatic as larvae and during breeding time but live in terrestrial, humid environments over the rest of the season.
These rather small species used to be included in genus ''
Triturus'', but
phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that genus as
paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
.
In the following, the name ''Lissotriton'', originally introduced by
Thomas Bell in 1839, was reinstated for the small-bodied species related to the
type species ''Lissotriton vulgaris'' (the smooth newt).
Their exact phylogenetic placement within the newts (subfamily Pleurodelinae) is still uncertain.
Species
Currently, ten species are listed in ''Amphibian Species of the World''
– the rank of some of these as species or subspecies is however controversial:
*''
Lissotriton boscai
Boscá's newt (''Lissotriton boscai'', formerly ''Triturus boscai'' ), also known as the Iberian newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. The species is found in Portugal and western Spain.
Etymology
The specific name ''boscai'' ...
''
(Lataste, 1879) – Bosca's newt
*''
Lissotriton graecus
The Greek smooth newt or Greek newt (''Lissotriton graecus'') is a newt species found in the southern Balkans, from southern Croatia (Dalmatia) over Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia to Greece and south-westernmost Bulgaria.
Willy Wolterst ...
''
(Wolterstorff, 1906) – Greek newt
*''
Lissotriton helveticus
The palmate newt (''Lissotriton helveticus'') is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the thr ...
''
(Razoumovsky, 1789) – Palmate newt
*''
Lissotriton italicus
The Italian newt (''Lissotriton italicus'') is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Italy. The species can be found in temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, freshwater lakes, i ...
''
(Peracca, 1898) – Italian newt
*''
Lissotriton kosswigi
''Lissotriton'' is a genus of newts native to Europe and parts of Asia Minor. As most other newts, they are aquatic as larvae and during breeding time but live in terrestrial, humid environments over the rest of the season.
These rather small sp ...
''
(Freytag, 1955)
*''
Lissotriton lantzi
''Lissotriton'' is a genus of newts native to Europe and parts of Asia Minor. As most other newts, they are aquatic as larvae and during breeding time but live in terrestrial, humid environments over the rest of the season.
These rather small sp ...
''
(Wolterstorff, 1914) – Caucasian smooth newt
*''
Lissotriton maltzani
''Lissotriton'' is a genus of newts native to Europe and parts of Asia Minor. As most other newts, they are aquatic as larvae and during breeding time but live in terrestrial, humid environments over the rest of the season.
These rather small sp ...
''
(Boettger, 1879)
*''
Lissotriton montandoni
The Carpathian newt, or Montandon’s newt, (''Lissotriton montandoni'') is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
The total length of adults of this species is around ...
''
(Boulenger, 1880) – Carpathian newt
*''
Lissotriton schmidtleri
Schmidtler's smooth newt (''Lissotriton schmidtleri'') is a newt species found from northwestern Greece and southeast Bulgaria over East Thrace across the Bosphorus to northwest Anatolia. Its range borders that of the smooth newt (''L. vulgaris' ...
''
(Raxworthy, 1988)
*''
Lissotriton vulgaris''
(Linnaeus, 1758) – Smooth newt
Gallery
Mate selection
Female
mate choice
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. It is characterized by a "selective response by animals to particular stimuli" which can be observed as behavior.Bateson, Paul Patrick Gordon. "Mate Choice." Mate Choic ...
is an important concept in evolutionary biology because it bears on female and male reproductive success. Experiments were carried out with ''
Lissotriton vulgaris'' in which female newts were paired sequentially with two males having different degrees of genetic relatedness to the female. It was found that the more genetically dissimilar male had a higher paternity share than the less related male.
Female choice may reflect an avoidance of inbreeding with related males that could lead to less fit progeny (
inbreeding depression).
References
External links
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*
Taxa named by Thomas Bell (zoologist)
Amphibian genera
{{Salamandridae-stub