Great crested newt
| Northern crested newt | |
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| Male great crested newt in "mating dress". | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Salamandridae |
| Genus: | Triturus |
| Species: | T. cristatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768) |
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| Northern crested newt range | |
The northern crested newt, also known as the great crested newt or warty newt (Triturus cristatus) is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.
It is a relatively large species. Females can measure up to 16 cm and are larger than males, which measure 14 to 15 cm long.
These newts have dark grey-brown backs and flanks, and are covered with darker-coloured spots so they appear almost black. Their undersides are either yellow- or orange-coloured and are covered in large, black blotches, which have a unique pattern in each individual.
Males can be distinguished from females by the presence of a jagged crest during the breeding season. This runs along their backs, then a separate smoother-edged crest runs above and below their tails (in some other species of newts, the crest along the back is continuous with the tail crest). They also have a silver-grey stripe that runs along the tail.
Females lack a crest, but have a yellow-orange stripe along the lower edge of their tails and often a marked orange stripe along the top of their lower backs and tails. The great crested newt is known for the long jagged crest on its back.Great crested newts are a protected and endangered species.
The range of the northern crested newt extends from Great Britain and Brittany in the west, across much of Europe north of the Alps, and southeast to the Black Sea. It is the biggest and least common of the three newts found in the British Isles and is one of only four amphibians which are protected by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Several closely related species were formerly considered to be subspecies of the northern crested newt: the Italian crested newt (Triturus carnifex), the Danube crested newt (Triturus dobrogicus) and the southern crested newt (Triturus karelinii). These are now recognized as separate species of the Triturus cristatus species complex.
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Wikipedia