Materials for the distribution of the great crested newt Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768) (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) in the Tula region

Over the entire observation history (up to and including 2023), the great crested newt Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768) was found in 39 localities within 12 out of 23 administrative districts of the Tula region, with 23 locations (59%) discovered in the last 4 years (2020–2023). The vast majority of the find points (92.3%) belong to the zones of coniferous-broadleaved and broadleaved forests. The species is less common in the forest-steppe zone, although in general its distribution here is insufficiently studied. In the Tula region, the great crested newt spends its aquatic phase of life predominantly in artificial water bodies (71.4% of 28 cases), which is associated with a shortage of natural stagnant and semi-flowing water bodies due to the region's location on the Central Russian Upland. The abundance of T. cristatus in the populations identified in recent years is extremely low (the number of adult individuals counted in a specific water body has never exceeded several dozen). The article discusses species-specific limiting factors, among which, in recent decades, the colonization of small water bodies in the Tula region by the amur sleeper Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877, has had a particularly strong influence on the distribution and abundance of the great crested newt.