Origins of Triturus karelinii in the US hobby?

[otolith]

I recently acquired a pair of T. karelinii and have been curious as to where T. karelinii in the US hobby originated. Given the recent taxonomic changes this seems like useful information since we could potentially be keeping entirely different species. Do any keepers of T. karelinii here in the US have locality data for their animals? Mine are decedents of Jennifer Macke's line. If anyone could shed some light on the subject I would very much appreciate it. Locality data generally seems to be lacking within the hobby in general here in the states and I would like to do my part if I can when I have offspring available.

 

[caleb]

Most of the 'karelinii' in the UK came via Ukraine in the late 1990s/early 2000s- I think it's safe to assume that they were collected in the eastern (Caucasus) part of the range. This would make them true T. karelinii, as opposed to T. ivanbureschi in the Balkans, or the as yet un-named species in northern Turkey.

I'd guess that most animals in the US are of the same origin- WC animals were certainly sold in the US in the same timeframe.