The ITALIAN CRESTED NEWT may reach a total length of 17-18 cm. Its back is dark brown, sometimes with a shade of green, and has a pattern of black spots. Face and throat are patterned with small white spots and dots, but those are not present on the trunk. The belly is orange with black spots, like in other crested newt species. Males develop a crest during the breeding season. The crest is serrated up to the junction between the trunk and the tail, but on the tail it has a smooth edge. Females are larger and more heavily built like in other smooth newt species in general. Their colouration is somewhat darker than that of males. They lack the dorsal crest, however, they often have an orange stripe along their backbone (juvenile specimens may also have this stripe).
Distibution map by our National Herpetological Mapping Program:
