Phylogeny of the salamandrid genus triturus

Abstract

The Salamandrid genus Triturus and its allies have attracted a considerable amount of interest for many years. As a consequence, much evidence has accumulated on a number of aspects on their karyology, allozymic variation, reproductive behaviour, taxonomy, osteology and even paleontology. Few of these studies, however, have made use of modem and more disciplined methods of phylogenetic reconstruction, and none have so far attempted to evaluate all the available evidence in a single analysis. This paper attempts to synthesize current knowledge into a comprehensive, multidimensional picture of the evolutionary relationships of Triturus, and to integrate it in a single phylogenetic tree. Mate recognition systems and environmental constraints were superimposed to the cla-dogram and employed to generate a broader evolutionary scenario. All species of «bigger newts» (T. cristatus complex, T. vittatus) are characterized by a higly developed sexual dimorphism, based mainly on visual characters. In contrast, with the only exception of some «subspecies» of T. vulgaris, all other species have far less developed sexual dimorphism and rely more on chemical stimuli. The latter species do not show territorial behaviour and have developed patterns of direct sexual competition. The three most derived species (T. belveticus, T. montandoni, T. vulgaris') coevolved a form of behavioural defense represented by the so-called «retreat» display. © 1988 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.