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 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 ''Triturus'' is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to thei ...

'', 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 ...

. It was originally described as a subspecies of the southern crested newt, "''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 In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

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 was chosen in honour of Bulgarian herpetologist Ivan Buresh. 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 Yugoslavia. It ...

, 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 ...

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 Macedo ...

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 Li ...

) 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 Hungar ...

. Genetic data showed that Northern Anatolian populations east of the Bosphorus and Bursa form a separate, but morphologically indistinguishable

sibling species 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

(''T. dobrogicus''), 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 ...

(''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