| Italian crested newt | |
|---|---|
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| Juvenile with yellow dorsal stripe | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Salamandridae |
| Genus: | Triturus |
| Species: | T. carnifex |
| Binomial name | |
| Triturus carnifex (Laurenti, 1768) | |
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| Range of T. carnifex in Europe | |
The Italian crested newt (Triturus carnifex) is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae.
Triturus carnifex is found in parts of the Balkans and Italy. It is an aquatic breeder that can spend up to four months in the water. [2] The location of the ponds where they breed affects the time when T. carnifex enters the water. [2] T. carnifex prefers living in deep water since it is a nektonic species: it swims freely and is independent of currents. [3] The absence of predatory fish may also explain why T. carnifex is inclined to ponds, rather than other larger bodies of water. [3]
They typically prefer ponds in northern Europe, where temperatures are colder [ citation needed ]. Adult T. carnifex start to arrive between February and May, and leave between July and October. [4] In warmer ponds, adult newts arrive within a month and leave during a two-week period in July. [4] Andreone and Giacoma (1989) speculated that newt migration into the ponds increases after rainy days, since after rainfall, newt activity is not limited by humidity.
Higher altitudes, where temperatures begin to decrease, have a direct effect on the size of T. carnifex. [5] Ficetola et al. (2010) discovered that living in colder temperatures resulted a body size increase in both male and female. Females in higher altitudes were found to be larger because they were carrying more oocytes and larger ovaries, which gave them a reproductive advantage over the smaller females. [5] T. carnifex is poikilothermic and larger body sizes help to reduce heat fluctuations. [5] Ficetola also found that fluctuations in body temperature of T. carnifex decreased when body size increased. An increase in body size also occurs where there is increased precipitation or nearby primary producers, due to the effect of increased resources on animals. [5]
Human interference has dramatically changed the habitat of T. carnifex due to the expansion of industrial areas and urban centers. [3] This results in a fragmentation of natural landscapes, which leads to selective extinction, genetic drift, and inbreeding from isolation. [3] Introducing fish to isolated wetland habitats also leads to a decline of amphibians because of predation on newt larvae. [3]
Adult newts in the genus Triturus were found to breathe mainly via the skin but also through the lungs and the buccal cavity. Lung breathing is mainly used when there is a lack of oxygen in the water, or at high activity such as during courtship, breeding, or feeding. [6]
When T. carnifex newts are induced into anemia, they are able to respire without the need of blood cells. [7] Around two weeks after anemia is induced, the newts produces a mass of cells that helps to revitalize the already circulating red blood cell mass. [7]
During winter months, prolactin is released into the circulatory system, which drives T. carnifex into the aquatic environment and reduces the active transport of sodium ions. [8] This happens because there is more water readily available to the newt for uptake as compared to its terrestrial dwelling during the summer months. In the aquatic phase, T. carnifex has a reduced urine flow and glomerular filtration rate compared to the terrestrial phase. [9] In summer, aldosterone creates an increase in enzymatic activity in T. carnifex, which leads to a decrease in ion transport. [10]
To avoid competition with other co-occurring newts, T. carnifex tends to reproduce in the deeper parts of a pond and is more nocturnal. [11] Due to their larger size, they can prey on smaller species such as the palmate newt. [12]
Reproductive females of T. carnifex were shown to regulate their body temperature more precisely and prefer higher temperatures than non-reproductive females and males. [13]
Cadmium, a released into the environment from industrial and consumer waste, has been shown to be detrimental to T. carnifex even at a concentrations below Italian and European thresholds, by disrupting the activity of the adrenal gland. [14] In experiments allowing Italian crested newts to be exposed to nonylphenol, an endocrine disruptor common in leakage from sewers, there was a decrease in corticosterone and aldosterone, hormones produced by the adrenal gland and important for stress response. [15]
The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown with a spotted underside that ranges in colour from orange to white. They reach an average length of 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in); males are larger than females. The newts' skins are dry and velvety when they are living on land, but become smooth when they migrate into the water to breed. Males develop a more vivid colour pattern and a conspicuous skin seam (crest) on their back when breeding.
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 very granular because of the number of poison glands. They also lack nasolabial grooves. Most species of Salamandridae have moveable eyelids but lack lacrimal glands.
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt 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 to 16 cm (6.3 in) long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season.
The alpine newt is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.
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.
The southern crested newt is a terrestrial European newt. It is similar to the northern crested newt except larger and more robust.
The marbled newt is a mainly terrestrial newt native to western Europe. They are found in the Iberian Peninsula and France, where they typically inhabit mountainous areas.
Boscá's newt, also known as the Iberian newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. The species is found in Portugal and western Spain.
The Danube crested newt or Danube newt 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 body than the other crested newts in genus Triturus but like these, males develop a conspicuous jagged seam on back and tail during breeding season.
The Italian newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Italy. The species can be found in temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss, natural land conversion and invasive species. It was formerly known as Triturus italicus, but was relocated to the genus Lissotriton after Triturus was split.
The southern marbled newt or pygmy marbled newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The southern banded newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in Armenia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. This species has two subspecies - O. v. vittatus and O. v. ciliensis.
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 aquatic salamanders are considered newts, however. More than 100 known species of newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.
Calotriton, or the European brook newts, is a genus of newts native to the Pyrenees and central Catalonia. These amphibians were formerly placed within genus Euproctus, but the genus was resurrected in 2005. Instead of Euproctus, they seem more closely related to Triturus, their sister taxon.
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.
The Anatolian crested newt is a species of newt endemic to northern Anatolia in Turkey. Before its description in 2016, it was initially considered to belong to the southern crested newt and then the Balkan crested newt. The three species form a complex of morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Genetic data demonstrated the Anatolian crested newt to be distinct from the other two species, although it hybridises with the Balkan crested newt at its western range end.
Kosswig's smooth newt is a newt species found in northwestern Anatolia, east of the Bosphorus.
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Media related to Triturus carnifex at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Triturus carnifex at Wikispecies Triturus species | ||
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| Crested newts |
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| Marbled newts |
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