A reconstruction is presented of the phylogenetic relationships withing Triturus. Two different data sets are used. Protein electrophoretic data were scored for 19 presumptive gene loci in nine species (Rafinski & Arntzen, 1987) and a set of 16 behaviour characters from the courtship of Triturus was scored for the same nine species. When these are analysed in concernt, a single, fully resolved and robust solution is found. Consequently, two subgenera are recognized: Triturus and Palaeotriton, the former including all te medium‐ and large‐bodied species: T. alpestris, T. vittatus, T. marmoratus, T. cristatus and its three former subspecies (T. carnifex, T. dobrogicus and T. Karelini); the latter comprising the small‐bodied species: T. bascai, T. italicus, T. helveticus, T. vulgaris and T. montandoni. Within the subgenus Triturus, T. alpestris and T. vittatus are sister taxa to the remaining members of the subgenus. Similarly, T. boscai and T. italicus are a monophyletic group, sister to T. vulgaris, T. helveticus and T. montandoni. Alternative solutions may be found on the basis of a quantitative analysis of the behavioural characters employed in this study. An alternative phylogenetic tree is included as an example.
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Arntzen et al. (1989) studied this question.