Triturus carnifex (Laurenti, 1768)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Salamandridae > Subfamily: Pleurodelinae > Genus: Triturus > Species: Triturus carnifex

Triton carnifex Laurenti, 1768, Spec. Med. Exhib. Synops. Rept.: 38, 145. Type(s): Including specimen figured on Pl. 2, fig. 3 of the original publication. Type locality: "praeruptis umbrosis, sablosisque" (= shaded, sandy slopes), presumably in Austria; designated by Mertens and Müller, 1928, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 41: 11, as "Wien", Austria.

Gecko carnifex — Meyer, 1795, Synops. Rept. Nov. Sist. Gen. Method.: 23.

Salamandra carnifex — Schneider, 1799, Hist. Amph. Nat.: 71.

Salamandra platycauda Rusconi, 1821, Amours Salamand. Aquat. Develop.: 29, pl. 1, fig. 3. Type(s): Not stated, but including 2 animals figured in pl. 1, fig. 3. Type locality: Not stated, but presumably in northern montane Italy. Synonymy with Triton cristatus by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 20; Leydig, 1867, Arch. Naturgesch., 33: 177, with Triturus carnifex by Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 94.

Triton nycthemerus Michahelles, 1830, Isis von Oken, 23: 806. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist. Type locality: "aus der Berglette der Abruzzen im südlichen Itlaien; als Fundort wurde mir namentlich der Monte sibillo angegeben . . . . Italia meridionali", Abruzzi Province, southern Italy. Synonymy by Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 50, and confirmed by Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 94. Considered a nomen dubium by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 21. Tentatively placed in the synonymy of Molge cristata karelini by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 10.

Petraponia nigra Massalongo, 1853, Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, Ser. 3, 7: 15. Type(s): Not stated, although clearly including animal figured in original plate. Type locality: "provincia Padovana", northern Italy. Synonymy with Triton carnifex by Schreiber, 1875, Herpetol. Eur.: 50. Synonymy with Triton cristatus karelinii by Camerano, 1885, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 36: 453.

Triton (Alethotriton) cristatus platycephalus Fatio, 1872, Fauna Vert. Suisse, 3: 527. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist, but presumably originally in MHNG. Type locality: "Tessin, non loin de Lugano, dans quelques mares du Val Vedeggio", Switzerland. Synonymy by Camerano, 1885, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 36: 453.

Triton cristatus var. carnifex — Schreiber, 1912, Herpetol. Eur., Ed. 2: 115.

Triturus cristatus platycauda — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 453.

Triturus cristatus carnifex — Wolterstorff, 1923, Bl. Aquar. Terrarienkd., Stuttgart, 34: 121; Mertens, 1923, Senckenb. Biol., 5: 214; Mertens and Wermuth, 1960, Amph. Rept. Europas: 27.

Triton cristatus carnifex forma alpina Wolterstorff, 1925, Abh. Ber. Mus. Nat. Heimatkd. Magdeburg, 4: 251. Holotype: MM (destroyed in W.W.II), according to Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 94. Type locality: From the stretch of the Vienna forests near southern Bohemia—Sobeslau, Wodnian, Prachatitz, 170–200 meters. Unavailable quadranominal.

Molge cristatus carnifex var. neapolitana Wolterstorff In Schreitmüller, 1926, Lacerta, 1926: 1. Holotype: MM, destroyed in W.W.II, according to Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 94. Type locality: Not stated. Nomen nudum. Unavailable tetranominal.

Triton (Neotriton) carnifex — Bolkay, 1927, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 39: 65.

Triton (Neotriton) carnifex carnifex — Bolkay, 1927, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 39: 65, by implication; Bolkay, 1928, Z. Anat. Entwicklungesch., 86: 259.

Triturus carnifex — Bucci-Innocenti, Ragghianti, and Mancino, 1983, Copeia, 1983: 662–672.

Triturus (Triturus) carnifex — MacGregor, Sessions, and Arntzen, 1990, J. Evol. Biol., 3: 329; Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 67.

English Names

Vienna Newt (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 36).

Alpine Crested Newt (Steward, 1969, Tailed Amph. Eur.: 40; Stumpel-Rienks, 1992, Ergänzungsband Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., Trivialnamen der Herpetofauna Eur.: 64).

Alpine Warty Newt (Stumpel-Rienks, 1992, Ergänzungsband Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., Trivialnamen der Herpetofauna Eur.: 64).

Italian Crested Newt (Arnold, 2002, Rept. Amph. Eur., Ed. 2: 44; Speybroeck, Beukema, Bok, and Van Der Voort, 2016, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Brit. Eur.: 97. 

Distribution

Apennine Italy (south to Calabria) and extreme southern Switzerland south of the Alps; alpine regions of Austria and adjacent extreme southeastern Germany and southern Czech Republic south through Austria and western Hungary to Croatia, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia; introduced into England, Belgium, Netherlands, France (near Geneva), and sites in Switzerland.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland

Introduced: Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Comment

Arntzen and Wallis, 1999, Bijdr. Dierkd., 68: 181–203, reported on geographic variation, noting that the diagnosable subspecies, Triturus carnifex macedonicus (now Triturus macedonicus) and Triturus carnifex carnifex are allopatric. Thorn and Raffaëlli, 2000, Salamand. Ancien Monde: 262–299, provided an account. Arnold, 2002, Rept. Amph. Eur., Ed. 2: 44, provided a brief account, figure, and map. Lever, 2003, Naturalized Rept. Amph. World: 230–231, reported introduced populations in England, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands. See account by Arntzen, 2003, in Grossenbacher and Thiesmeier (eds.), Handbuch Rept. Amph. Eur., 4(IIA): 421–514. Nöllert and Nöllert, 1992, Die Amph. Eur.: 225–226, provided a brief account and polygon map. See comment under Triturus macedonicus. See detailed account by Vanni, Andreone, and Tripepi, 2007, in Lanza et al. (eds.), Fauna d'Italia, 42 (Amph.): 265–272, for Italian population. See comment under Triturus macedonicus. Reviewed by Jehle, Thiesmeier, and Foster, 2011, The Crested Newt.: 1–152. Wielstra and Arntzen, 2011, BMC Evol. Biol., 11(162): 1–8, reported ln the molecular phylogenetics of the species and its near relatives. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 132, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Sparreboom, 2014, Salamanders Old World: 340–342, reviewed the biology, characteristics, distribution, reproduction, and conservation of the species. Wielstra, Sillero, Vörös, and Arntzen, 2014, Amphibia-Reptilia, 35: 376–381, provided a dot map. Arntzen, Wielstra, and Wallis, 2014, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 113: 604–622, reported on hybrid/contact zones with Triturus cristatus, Triturus dobrogicus, Triturus ivanbureschi, and Triturus macedonicus. Wielstra, Duijm, Lagler, Lammers, Meilink, Ziermann, and Arntzen, 2014, Mol. Ecol. Resources, 14: 1080–1089, and : 17–26, provided mtDNA-based phylogeographic study observed a basal split between the Italian and the Balkan populations with a restricted admixture at the contact and an admixture over a broader area at the contact between the northern and southern Italy lineages. Speybroeck, Beukema, Bok, and Van Der Voort, 2016, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Brit. Eur.: 97–101, provided a brief account and distribution map. See Dufresnes, 2019, Amph. Eur., N. Afr., & Middle East: 134, for brief summary of identifying morphology and biology, a range map, as well as a photograph. Bernabò and Brunelli, 2019, Eur. Zool. J., 86: 38–53, provided a developmental staging table for the species in Calabria, Italy. Fahrbach, de Visser, and Wielstra, 2021, Salamandra, 57: 428–434, discussed the hybrid zone with Triturus cristatus in southeastern Germany. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 373–376, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map).   

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