Editing Smooth newt (section)

==Distribution==

===Native range===

The smooth newt has been described as "the most ubiquitous and widely distributed newt of the Old World".{{r|Sparreboom2014|p=237}} The nominate subspecies, ''L.&nbsp;v. vulgaris'', is most widespread and ranges natively from [[Ireland]] (where the smooth newt is the only newt species){{r|Grosse2011|p=42}} and [[Great Britain]] in the west to [[Siberia]] and northern Kazakhstan in the east. In the north it reaches central [[Fennoscandia]], and its southern limit is central France, northern Italy, the central [[Balkans]] and the dry [[Eurasian steppe]] of Ukraine and Russia.{{r|1=Kuzmin1999|2=WielstraCanestrelli2018|3=Sparreboom2014|p3=234–238|4=Grosse2011|p4=42–44}} The subspecies ''L.&nbsp;v. ampelensis'' only occurs in the Carpathians of Ukraine and the [[Danube delta]] of northern Romania, and ''L.&nbsp;v. meridionalis'' in the northern half of Italy, southern Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.{{r|Sparreboom2014|p=234–235}}

In the [[Carpathians]], the smooth newt generally prefers lower elevations than the Carpathian newt. In the Balkans, the precise contact zones with the Greek smooth newt and Schmidtler's smooth newt are not yet clear.{{r|WielstraCanestrelli2018}} In central Italy, where the range of the smooth newt subspecies ''L.&nbsp;v. meridionalis'' overlaps with that of the [[Italian newt]] (''L.&nbsp;italicus''), it was found that the latter prefers a warmer and drier climate.{{r|IannellaCerasoli2017}}

===Introduced range===

The nominate subspecies, ''L.&nbsp;v. vulgaris'', has been [[introduced species|introduced]] to Australia, which has no native [[salamander]] species. The smooth newt was available in the Australian [[pet trade]] until 1997, when it was declared a "controlled pest animal" because of the risk of introduction. The first record in the wild was made near [[Melbourne]] in 2011, and larvae were later found, indicating successful reproduction. Negative impacts on the native fauna are feared, including predation on and competition with native [[frog]]s and freshwater [[invertebrate]]s, toxicity, and disease spread. The smooth newt could spread further in south-eastern Australia, where wide areas have a suitable climate.{{r|TingleyWeeks2014}}

Within Europe, the subspecies ''L.&nbsp;v. meridionalis'' was introduced north of the [[Alps]] near [[Geneva]], where it hybridises with the native ''L.&nbsp;v. vulgaris''.{{r|DubeyLavanchy2019}}