[5] Christopher Raxworthy described the species in 1988 as Triturus vulgaris schmidtleri, a subspecies of the smooth newt.

[5] It is overall very similar to the smooth newt but rather small, with males reaching 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) length.

The tail end is elongated but does not have a filament as in the neighbouring Kosswig's smooth newt.

[8] The species is assessed to be of least concern but is faced with an ongoing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat and as such its population is though to be decreasing.

[2] Since its range is much smaller than that of the smooth newt species complex as a whole, it is likely to be more vulnerable than previously estimated.