Editing Smooth newt (section)

==Description==

[[File:Schiermonnikoog - Kleine watersalamander (Lissotriton vulgaris) cropped.jpg |thumb|right |alt=Newt held between fingers, exposing its orange–white, black-spotted underside |Throat and belly are spotted. The spots are larger in males (pictured) than in females.]]
[[File:Teichmolch maennchen web.jpg |thumb|right |alt=Swimming male newt, with well developed crest and bright colours |During breeding season, males develop vivid colours and a crest.]]
[[File:Schwanheim_fg17.JPG|thumb|right|alt=Detail of male newt showing swollen, dark-coloured cloaca | The [[cloaca]] is swollen in breeding males.]]
[[File:Triturus vulgaris.jpg |thumb|right |alt=Female newt under water, sitting on leaf | Breeding females are drab in colour and have no dorsal crest.]]

===General characteristics===

Adult males of the smooth newt reach around {{cvt|9–11|cm|in|abbr=on}} head-to-tail length and are thus slightly larger than the females, which reach {{cvt|8–9.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The body weight of adults varies between {{cvt|0.3|-|5.2|g}}, and decreases during the breeding season. The head is longer than it is wide, with 2–3 longitudinal grooves on the top, and the elongated snout is blunt in the male and rounded in the female. The skin is velvety and water-repellent on land but smooth during the aquatic phase; it contains [[mucus]] and [[toxin]] glands and its upper layer is [[moulting|shed off]] regularly.{{r|1=Grosse2011|p1=80–93|2=Sparreboom2014|p2=233–234}}

Outside the breeding season, both sexes are yellow-brown, brown or olive-brown. The male has dark, round spots, while the female has smaller spots of the same colour, which sometimes form two or more irregular lines along the back. The male has an orange strip on the tail underside, and the throat and belly in males are orange to white with small dark, rounded spots (these are lighter with smaller spots in the female). Size and colour vary with the environment, and the newts tend to be smaller in northern latitudes.{{r|1=Grosse2011|p1=80–93|2=Sparreboom2014|p2=233–234}} [[Albinistic]] and [[leucistic]] individuals have been described.{{r|Grosse2011|p=94|Modesti2011}}

The smooth newt is [[diploid]] (i.e. it has two copies of each [[chromosome]]), with 24 chromosomes in total.{{r|Grosse2011|p=107}}

===Breeding characteristics===

During the aquatic breeding season, males develop a skin seam or crest, which runs uninterrupted along the back and the tail. It is {{cvt|1|–|1.5|mm}} high at mid-body, but higher along the tail. The tail also has a lower fin, and its end is pointed. The [[cloaca]] (the single digestive, urinary and reproductive orifice) of breeding males is swollen, round and dark-coloured. The hindfeet have more or less developed toe flaps, depending on the subspecies. Colours in general are more vivid than during the land phase. The dark spots grow larger, and the crest often has vertical dark and bright bands. There are five to seven longitudinal stripes on the head. The lower edge of the tail is red with a silver-blue flash and black spots. Females only develop low, straight tail fins but no crest or toe flaps, and are more drably coloured.{{r|1=Beebee2000|p1=26|2=Sparreboom2014|p2=233–234}}

Subspecies differ slightly in male [[Secondary sex characteristic|secondary characteristics]]: ''L.&nbsp;v. ampelensis'' has strongly developed toe flaps, its tail tapers into a fine thread (but not a distinct filament), and the body is slightly square in cross-section. ''L.&nbsp;v. meridionalis'' also has toe flaps and a pointed tail, its crest is smooth-edged, and its body is square-shaped. In the nominate subspecies, ''L.&nbsp;v. vulgaris'', the crest is clearly [[Wiktionary:denticulated|denticulated]], toe flaps are only weakly developed and the body is round.{{r|Sparreboom2014|p=234–236}}

===Larvae===

The aquatic [[larvae]] are {{cvt|6.5|–|7|mm}} long and yellow-brown with two longitudinal stripes at hatching. They initially have, in addition to their [[gills]], only two balancers at the sides of the head, short appendages for attaching to plants which get [[wiktionary:resorb|resorbed]] within a few days.{{r|Sparreboom2014|p=237}} As in all salamanders, forelegs develop before the hindlegs. The colour becomes a more cryptic, darkly marbled yellow to brown in the growing larvae. Larvae are very slender and similar to the palmate newt. They develop a skin seam from the neck to the pointed tail; the tail is as long as the head and trunk. The larvae grow to {{cvt|3–4.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, which is also the size of the [[eft]]s (terrestrial juveniles) just after [[metamorphosis]].{{r|Grosse2011|p=188–192}}

===Similar species===

The smooth newt resembles the other, less widespread ''[[Lissotriton]]'' species. It can be confused especially with the closely related "smooth newt complex" species (marked with * in the table below) and the more distant palmate newt, which often occurs in the same area.{{r|1=WielstraCanestrelli2018|2=Grosse2011|p2=25}} Females are especially difficult to tell apart, as distinguishing features are mainly observed in the males at breeding season.{{r|1=Grosse2011|p1=19–41|2=Sparreboom2014|p2=225–235}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="font-size: 85%" | Comparison of the smooth newt and related ''Lissotriton'' species{{r|1=Grosse2011|p1=19–41|2=Sparreboom2014|p2=225–235}}

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" rowspan=2 | Species !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" rowspan=2 | Distribution !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" colspan=4 | Breeding male characteristics !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" rowspan=2 | Other

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" | Body shape !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" | Dorsal crest !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" | Toe flaps (hind feet) !! style="background: rgb(235,235,210)" | Tail end

|- style="font-size: 85%"|
| '''Smooth newt*'''{{pb}}'''''L. vulgaris''''' || widespread from [[British Isles]] to [[Central Asia]] || round to square (depending on subspecies) || smooth or denticulated (depending on subspecies) || weakly to well developed (depending on subspecies) || pointed to elongated, no filament ||

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Bosca's newt]]{{pb}}''L. boscai'' || West [[Iberian Peninsula]] || slightly square || none || none || short filament || belly with some dark spots, especially at sides

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Carpathian newt]]*{{pb}}''L. montandoni'' || [[Carpathians]] || square || very low, smooth-edged || weakly developed || blunt, with filament || belly unspotted

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Caucasian smooth newt]]*{{pb}}''L. lantzi'' || [[Caucasus]] || slightly square || high (less than {{cvt|1|mm}} at mid-body), denticulated (almost spine-shaped) || moderately developed || pointed, but no filament ||

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Greek smooth newt]]*{{pb}}''L. graecus'' || Southern [[Balkans]] || square || low (less than {{cvt|1|mm}} at mid-body), smooth-edged || well developed || long filament || lower tail fin unspotted

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Italian newt]]{{pb}}''L. italicus'' || Southern Italy || slightly square || none || none || pointed, no filament || very small, {{cvt|4.5–7.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}; throat with few or no spots; golden-yellow patch behind eyes in both sexes

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Kosswig's smooth newt]]*{{pb}}''L. kosswigi'' || Northern [[Anatolia]] || square || low (less than {{cvt|1|mm}} at mid-body) but higher at tail base || strongly developed || long filament ||

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Palmate newt]]{{pb}}''L. helveticus'' || Western Europe || square || low, smooth-edged || strongly developed || long filament (both sexes) || throat unspotted

|- style="font-size: 85%" |
| [[Schmidtler's smooth newt]]*{{pb}}''L. schmidtleri'' || Anatolia and eastern Balkans || slightly square || high (more than {{cvt|2|mm}} at mid-body), denticulated || weakly developed || elongated, no filament || very small, {{cvt|5–7|cm|in|abbr=on}}

|}