Triturus

Triturus Temporal range: Eocene–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Northern crested newt
Marbled newt
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Salamandridae
Subfamily:	Pleurodelinae
Genus:	Triturus Rafinesque, 1815
Type species
Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768)
Species
nine species  Triturus anatolicus Wielstra & Arntzen, 2016 Triturus carnifex (Laurenti, 1768) Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768) Triturus dobrogicus (Kiritzescu, 1768) Triturus ivanbureschi Arntzen & Wielstra, 2013 Triturus karelinii (Strauch, 1870) Triturus macedonicus (Karaman, 1922) Triturus marmoratus (Latreille, 1800) Triturus pygmaeus (Wolterstorff, 1905)
Synonyms
Triton Laurenti, 1768 Molge Merrem, 1820 Oiacurus Leuckaert, 1821 Molga Boie, 1827 Tritonella Swainson, 1839 Hemisalamandra Dugès, 1852 Petraponia Massalongo, 1853 Pyronicia Gray 1858 Alethotriton Fatio, 1872 Triturus Boulenger, 1878 Turanomolge Nikolskii, 1918 Neotriton Bolkay, 1927

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 their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase.

Crested and marbled newts live and breed in vegetation-rich ponds or similar aquatic habitats for two to six months and usually spend the rest of the year in shady, protection-rich land habitats close to their breeding sites. Males court females with a ritualised display, ending in the deposition of a spermatophore that is picked up by the female. After fertilisation, a female lays 200–400 eggs, folding them individually into leaves of water plants. Larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into land-dwelling juveniles.

Historically, most European newts were included in the genus, but taxonomists have split off the alpine newts (Ichthyosaura), the small-bodied newts (Lissotriton) and the banded newts (Ommatotriton) as separate genera. The closest relatives of Triturus are the European brook newts (Calotriton). Two species of marbled newts and seven species of crested newts are accepted, of which the Anatolian crested newt was only described in 2016. Their ranges are largely contiguous but where they do overlap, hybridisation may take place.

Although not immediately threatened, crested and marbled newts suffer from population declines, caused mainly by habitat loss and fragmentation. Both their aquatic breeding sites and the cover-rich, natural landscapes upon which they depend during their terrestrial phase are affected. All species are legally protected in Europe, and some of their habitats have been designated as special reserves.