Lissotriton kosswigi (Freytag, 1955)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Distribution of Kosswig's smooth newt (Lissotriton kosswigi), endemic to Anatolia, based on the occurrence data of Wielstra et al. (Amphibia-Reptilia 2018, DOI: 0.1163/15685381-17000128). I estimated alpha hulls around these occurrence points with the function EOO.computing() in the R package ConR v. 1.3 (Dauby et al., Ecology and Evolution 2017, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3704), with alpha = 0.8 and buff.alpha = 0.2.
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Open encyclopedia reference
Kosswig's smooth newt (Lissotriton kosswigi) is a newt species found in northwestern Anatolia, east of the Bosphorus. Günther Erich Freytag described the species in 1955 as Triturus vulgaris kosswigii, a subspecies of the smooth newt (now Lissotriton vulgaris). After genetic data had suggested the smooth newt was a complex of distinct lineages, Dubois and Raffaëlli, in 2009, recognised several subspecies, including Kosswig's smooth newt, as distinct species. This was followed by subsequent authors. Molecular phylogenetics suggested that the closest relative of Kosswig's smooth newt is the Greek smooth newt (Lissotriton graecus) from the Balkans. The species differs from other species in the smooth newt species complex mainly in the male secondary characters during breeding season. The male dorsal crest is less than 1 mm high, but high at the tail base, has smooth edges, and ends in a long filament. The well-developed dorso-lateral folds give the body a square shape. The toe flaps are well developed. Paedomorphic adults have been reported for Kosswig's smooth newt.
Wikipedia contributors, Kosswig's smooth newt; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:02:22.859971+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lissotriton kosswigi (Freytag, 1955)
- Name authority
- (Freytag, 1955)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Salamandridae
- Genus
- Lissotriton
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familySalamandridae Goldfuss, 1820
- subfamilyPleurodelinae Tschudi, 1838
- genusLissotriton Bell, 1839
- speciesLissotriton kosswigi (Freytag, 1955)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lissotriton. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lissotriton boscai (Lataste in Tourneville, 1879) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lissotriton italicus (Peracca, 1898) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lissotriton maltzani (Boettger, 1879) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lissotriton montandoni (Boulenger, 1880) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lissotriton graecus (Wolterstorff, 1906) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lissotriton helveticus (Razoumovsky, 1789) | SalamandridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Triturus vulgaris kosswigi Freytag, 1955 Freytag, 1955 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1099914 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3VGH2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.