It usually prefers altitude from 1,200 to 2,200m. Size up to 12cm, sometimes more. Females are larger than males. Females give birth to 250 to 300 eggs until the end of the breeding season.
It is generally common in suitable habitat. The species is considered to be rare in Hungary and Bulgaria; threatened in Austria and Denmark; vulnerable in Spain (M.a. cyreni) and endangered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece (Gascet al., 1997; Denoël pers. comm.).
Current Population Trend: Decreasing Additional data: ♦Population severely fragmented: No