The distribution and taxonomy of Lissotriton newts in Turkey (Amphibia, Salamandridae)

A peer-reviewed open-access journal Zookeys 484: | 1—23 (2015) i er eeha se #ZooKeys http:/ /Z00 keys -pen soft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research The distribution and taxonomy of Lissotriton newts in Turkey (Amphibia, Salamandridae) Ben Wielstra'*, Emin Bozkurt®, Kurtulus Olgun? | Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, SIO 2TN Sheffield, UK 2. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, RO. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands 3 Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Science and Art, Department of Biology, 09010, Efeler, Aydin, Turkey Corresponding author: Ben Wielstra (b.wielstra@shefheld.ac.uk) Academic editor: F Andreone | Received 31 October 2014 | Accepted 16 February 2015 | Published 26 February 2015 http://zoobank.org/A5F4CFEC-78B3-46E2-9999-D22ACC45840A Citation: Wielstra B, Bozkurt E, Olgun K (2015) The distribution and taxonomy of Lissotriton newts in Turkey (Amphibia, Salamandridae). ZooKeys 484: 11-23. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.484.8869 Abstract Two and perhaps three taxa of Lissotriton newt occur in Turkey. Their species status is controversial. The distribution of these taxa and the taxonomic status of each are reviewed and discussed. A database of 128 Turkish Lissotriton localities was compiled and species distribution models were constructed. We reiterate that the presence of L. (v.) dantzi in Turkey is disputed and needs confirmation. The range of L. (v.) kosswigi is restricted to north-western Anatolia — given the small global range of this Turkey endemic, a closer look at its conservation status is warranted. The distribution of L. v. schmidtleri covers western Asiatic and European Turkey. The findings support an allopatric distribution of the Turkish Lissotriton species. We reflect on the biological significance of previously reported morphological intermediates between L. (vu) kosswigi and L. v. schmiddleri in the light of the recent proposal to recognize kosswigi at the species level. The available data are in line with species status for L. (u.) dantzi and L. (v.) kosswigi. Although L. v, schmidtleri is a genetically diverged taxon as well, the extent of gene flow with parapatric European Lissotriton taxa is as yet unknown. Keywords Anatolia, Bosphorus, historical biogeography, Lissotriton kosswigi, Lissotriton lantzi, Lissotriton vulgaris schmidtleri, Smooth newt Copyright Ben Wielstra et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 12 Ben Wielstra et al. / ZooKeys 484: 11-23 (2015) Introduction The Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris group (Amphibia: Salamandridae) is distributed in Europe and adjacent Asia (Schmidtler and Franzen 2004). The taxonomy of the group is a matter of dispute, with the inclusive taxa usually referred to as subspecies, although some of these have been occasionally regarded as specifically distinct (see Dubois and Raffaélli 2009, Speybroeck et al. 2010). Based on the taxonomy of Babik et al. (2005) the Lissotriton vulgaris group consists of seven taxa, namely ampelensis (Fuhn 1951), graecus (Wolterstorff 1906), kosswigi (Freytag 1955), dantzi (Wolterstorff 1914), meridionalis (Boulenger 1882), schmidtleri (Raxworthy 1988) [following the rationale of Dubois (2007), Dubois and Raffaélli (2009) make the case that the original name schmidtleri as in Raxworthy (1988) is correct, rather than the name schmidtlerorum introduced in Raxworthy (1990)], and the nominal species vulgaris (Linnaeus 1758). In Turkey, two and perhaps three Lissotriton occur (Fig. 1; Schmidtler and Franzen 2004). The range of /antzi covers the Caucasus region and the taxon might occur in the extreme north-east of Turkey, near the border with Georgia (Schmidtler and Franzen 2004, Skorinov et al. 2014). The taxon osswigi is restricted to north-western Anatolia (Schmidtler and Franzen 2004). The taxon schmidtleri was originally considered to be restricted to western Asiatic Turkey, but Raxworthy (1988, 1990) suggested it might extend into Europe. Genetic data have subsequently confirmed that this taxon’s range encompasses European Turkey (Nadachowska and Babik 2009; Pabijan et al. 2014). The range of schmidtleri protrudes further into the Balkan Peninsula, but its range limit is as yet unclear; newts with mitochondrial DNA typical of schmidtleri have been recorded as far north-west as easternmost Greece and central Bulgaria (Pabijan et al. 2014). Previous records of vulgaris from Turkey reflect incomplete taxonomy and can be referred to the other taxa (cf. Dubois and Raffaélli 2012, Olgun et al. 1999). The Lissotriton vulgaris group comprises two main morphological types: one with a smooth crest and flappy feet and another with a ragged crest and limited fringing on the feet (Fig. 2). Distinguishing the taxa within the two main groups is less straightforward and this