European regional assessment: Near Threatened (NT)
EU 27 regional assessment: Near Threatened (NT)

This species is listed as Near Threatened because this species is probably in significant decline (but probably at a rate of slightly less than 30% over three generations) because of widespread habitat loss through much of its range, and the effects of invasive species, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

Within the European region, this species is distributed in central and southern Iberia and in part of an external Spanish territory in North Africa (Ceuta). It has been introduced to Gibraltar, but this population appears "not to have prospered" (D. Doonaire-Barroso pers. comm. 2020). In southern Portugal and Andalusia (Spain), it is the most widespread salamander (D. Donaire pers. comm. 2020). It is essentially a lowland species becoming rare above 900 m asl, although it might be found at 1,565 m asl in the Sierra de Loja, Granada, Spain. This species has a low dispersal capacity, resulting in strong genetic structure at small spatial scales (I. Martinez-Solano pers. comm. November 2019).

Out of the European region, this species occurs in the coastal plain of northern Morocco.

It is not abundant over most of its distribution, with populations being more scattered and fragmented in the east and north of the Iberian Peninsula. Some population declines in this species have been observed, especially in eastern Spain.

This is a highly aquatic species of Mediterranean-type habitats including scrub, open woodland and cultivated land. It is generally found in ponds, dayas, wadi, lakes, ditches and slow-moving streams (often temporary in nature) with plenty of vegetation cover. The adults are mostly found under stones or in mud in their aquatic habitats or sheltering under cover on land if the wetland dries up. It may be present in slightly modified aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The female deposits around 800–1,500 eggs on plants and stones in ponds.

This species is generally threatened by the loss of aquatic habitats through drainage, agrochemical pollution, the impacts of livestock (in North African dayas), eutrophication, domestic and industrial contamination, and infrastructure development. It has largely disappeared from coastal areas in Iberia and Morocco close to concentrations of tourism and highly populated areas (such as Madrid). Introduced fish and crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) are known to prey on the eggs and larvae of this species and are implicated in its decline. There is a supposed need to include non-amphibian hosts, especially invasive species such as the red swamp crayfish, as part of the dynamics of Bd infection in order to predict possible outbreaks of chytridiomycosis, as well as its contemplation in future conservation strategies on amphibians (Oficialdegui et al. 2019). Mortality on roads has been reported to be a serious threat to some populations.

There is no information available.

It occurs in a number of protected areas in Iberia, but there is a need to monitor vulnerable populations in northern and eastern Spain and Portugal. It is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention and is protected by national legislation in Spain, where captive breeding of the species and habitat restoration projects are in place in some regions.