Do North African Fire Salamanders, Salamandra algira, occur in Tunisia?

Salamandra algira is patchily distributed from north-western Morocco to eastern Algeria. Its occurrence in Tunisia is under debate. In order to examine the presence of S. algira in Tunisia, three field trips were made to suitable habitats in the Medjerda mountains in north-eastern Tunisia. Additionally, phenotypic and morphological examinations of "Tunisian" S. algira museum specimens originating from the ZFMK, Germany, were carried out. No indications for the presence of S. algira in Tunisia were found during the field trips. The ZFMK specimens of Salamandra algira turned out to be most likely middle or eastern European Salamandra salamandra. These results do not support earlier statements on the presence of the species in Tunisia.