''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 ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

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 ...

, north-western

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 with ...

and south-western

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 Macedon ...

). 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-Anatolian crested newt. 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 dif ...

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 <--- Triturus macedonicus ---> {{Salamandridae-stub