''Ommatotriton ophryticus'', the northern banded newt, is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Salamandridae Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough skin. Their skin is v ...

. It is found in northeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and western

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, and southern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Taxonomy

''Ommatotriton ophryticus'' has been considered

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 species ...

of '' Ommatotriton vittatus'', but in 2005 Litvinchuk and colleagues raised it to full species status. They also described a new subspecies under this taxon, ''Triturus ophryticus nesterovi'', now recognized as a separate species ''

Ommatotriton nesterovi ''Ommatotriton'' or ''banded newts'' is a genus of salamanders in the family Salamandridae. The genus occurs in Western Asia and Caucasus. The species in this genus were formerly placed in the genus ''Triturus''. Taxonomy The genus contains thr ...

''.

Description

The tail is about the same length as the body and head. The limbs and digits are long, more so in males. Skin is almost smooth to slightly granular. During the terrestrial phase, the dorsum is reddish. During the aquatic phase, the dorsal and lateral surfaces are bronze-olive or olive-brown; there are small dark points on the back and a light band on flanks bordered with dark stripes. The belly is immaculate yellow to orange. During the breeding season, adult males develop very high and notched middorsal and caudal crest; the colouration is yellowish or brownish, with dark vertical stripes. Furthermore, their tails are covered with dark spots from above and with blue and/or greenish spots elsewhere.

Habitat and conservation

''Ommatotriton ophryticus'' occurs mostly higher than

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It typically lives in coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forests, up to subalpine meadows. Reproduction takes places in a large range of water bodies, from temporary ponds to lakes. Hibernation generally takes place on land, although individuals in breeding colours have been found in water as early as January. The terrestrial habitat may be relatively arid. ''Ommatotriton ophryticus'' can be locally common, but it is sporadically distributed over much of its range. It suffers from

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

caused forest destruction, dam construction, destruction of wetlands,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

by cattle, urbanization, and pollution. Also predation by introduced

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

s (''Procyon lotor'') is a major threat. It is also collected for pet trade.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2006770 ophryticus Amphibians of Georgia (country) Amphibians of Turkey Amphibians of Russia Amphibians described in 1846 Taxa named by Arnold Adolph Berthold