The distributions of the six species constituting the smooth newt species complex (Lissotriton vulgaris sensu lato and L. montandoni) – an addition to the New Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe

Abstract

The ‘smooth newt’, the taxon traditionally referred to asLissotriton vulgaris, consists of multiple morphologically distinct taxa. Given the uncertainty concerning the validity and rank of these taxa,L. vulgarissensu lato has often been treated as a single, polytypic species. A recent study, driven by genetic data, proposed to recognize five species,L. graecus,L. kosswigi,L. lantzi,L. schmidtleriand a more restrictedL. vulgaris. The Carpathian newtL. montandoniwas confirmed to be a closely related sister species. We propose to refer to this collective of sixLissotritonspecies as the smooth newt orLissotriton vulgarisspecies complex. Guided by comprehensive genomic data from throughout the range of the smooth newt species complex we 1) delineate the distribution ranges, 2) provide a distribution database, and 3) produce distribution maps according to the format of the New Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe, for the six constituent species. This allows us to 4) highlight regions where more research is needed to determine the position of contact zones.

Species list of the European herpetofauna – 2020 update by the Taxonomic Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica

“…The taxon graecus comes into close contact with L. v. vulgaris along the northern and eastern borders of its distribution. Although no dense sampling has been performed to delineate the contact zone in detail, and mitochondrial introgression from southern L. v. vulgaris into graecus occurs at its northern range border (Pabijan et al, 2017), nuclear gene pools of these two taxa appear to remain reciprocally distinct in relative close geographical proximity (Pabijan et al, 2017;Wielstra et al, 2018). We therefore accept Lissotriton graecus as a valid species.…”

“…Although data on the contact zone with L. v. kosswigi in Anatolia support a species-level divergence between L. v. schmidtleri and the graecus-kosswigi clade, areas of 100-300 km inhabited by L. vulgaris s.l. of unknown identity separate genotyped L. v. schmidtleri populations from those of L. v. vulgaris and L. graecus (Pabijan et al, 2017;Wielstra et al, 2018). The TC thus feels that more information on contact zones between L. v. schmidtleri and L. v. vulgaris is warranted before the species rank of schmidtleri can be accepted.…”

Taxonomic assessment and distribution of common toads (Bufo bufo and B. verrucosissimus) in Turkey based on morphological and molecular data

“…In the north-east of Turkey, T. karelinii and T. anatolicus show a distribution gap. The genus Lissotriton shows a (wider) distribution gap in Anatolia as well, with L. kosswigi occurring in the west and L. lantzi protruding in the east (Wielstra et al, 2015(Wielstra et al, , 2018. The occurrence of B. bufo and verrucosissimus_North along the Black Sea coast suggest a potential parallel biogeograhphic history.…”

Traditionally managed landscapes do not prevent amphibian decline and the extinction of paedomorphosis

“…These two species were, until recently, classed within the genus Triturus , whereas L. graecus was formerly considered as a subspecies of Lissotriton vulgaris (Wielstra et al. ). In this study, we considered the 23 main localities in which paedomorphosis is expressed in Montenegro (Ćirović , Denoël et al.…”

“…1). These two species were, until recently, classed within the genus Triturus, whereas L. graecus was formerly considered as a subspecies of Lissotriton vulgaris (Wielstra et al 2018). In this study, we considered the 23 main localities in which paedomorphosis is expressed in Montenegro ( Cirovi c 2009, Deno€ el et al 2009; M. Deno€ el, G. D zuki c and M. L. Kalezi c, personal observations) and for which historical data are available (Appendix S1: Tables S1 and S2).…”