Brownback salamander

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Brownback salamander
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Eurycea
Species:
E. aquatica
Binomial name
Eurycea aquatica
Rose & Bush, 1963

The brownback salamander (Eurycea aquatica) is a species of brook salamander. Its range includes parts of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, where it occurs in natural freshwater springs typically abundant in watercress. Once considered an ecotype of the southern two-lined salamander, the brownback salamander was subsequently raised to full species status based on molecular evidence [1] .

Contents

Naming and etymology

The genus " Eurycea " is mythological in origin and was first used by Rafinesque in 1822 to describe all brook salamanders. The specific epithet aquatica refers to the habits of E. aquatica being more aquatic than those of the closely related salamander E. cirrigera.

Range and habitat

The brownback salamander occurs in springs throughout the Southeast with verified localities existing in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Physical characteristics

The brownback salamander is so-named for its brown color, which is in contrast with the yellow hue of southern two-lined salamanders. Members of the species are typically 30–40 mm. Males and females are sexually dimorphic in head shape with the males having broader heads. Males of the brownback salamander do not possess cirri, which distinguishes this species from other brook salamanders including the southern two-lined salamander.

Related Research Articles

Barton Springs salamander Species of amphibian

The Barton Springs salamander is an endangered lungless salamander. It is endemic to Texas, United States. It was first found in Barton Springs in Austin, but is now also known from other localities in the nearby Travis and Hays Counties. Barton Springs salamanders are average-sized and have mottled coloration varying from darkish purple to light yellow.

Plethodontidae Family of amphibians

Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.

Brook salamander Genus of amphibians

Brook salamanders are a genus, Eurycea, of salamanders native to North America.

Dwarf salamander Species of amphibian

The dwarf salamander is a species of salamander native to the southern United States, from North Carolina to Oklahoma, south to Texas along the Gulf of Mexico states to northern Florida. Some sources refer to it as the four-fingered manculus, dwarf four-toed salamander, or the Florida dwarf salamander.

Seepage salamander Species of amphibian

The seepage salamander is a small, terrestrial species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. They are found in small areas of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It gets its name from the seepages around which it lives. It is very similar in its appearance and life history to the pygmy salamander. These two species differ greatly from the other Desmognathus species. They are the smallest salamanders in the genus, measuring only 3–5 cm (1–2 in) in length. They are also the only two terrestrial, direct-developing Desmognathus species. However, the two species are not often seen to coexist, differing in distribution by elevation; although there are exceptions. The seepage salamander is currently listed as Near Threatened, with its numbers declining in most of states in which it is found. It is threatened by habitat loss, with logging having a major effect.

<i>Desmognathus fuscus</i> Species of amphibian

Desmognathus fuscus is a species of amphibian in the family Plethodontidae. The species is commonly called the dusky salamander or northern dusky salamander to distinguish it from populations in the southern United States which form a separate species, the southern dusky salamander. The northern dusky salamander is the most widespread representative of its genus in Canada. It can be found in eastern North America from extreme eastern Canada in New Brunswick south into the panhandle of Florida and west to Louisiana. The size of the species' total population is unknown, but is assumed to easily exceed 100,000. The species' habitat differs somewhat geographically; dusky salamanders in the northern part of the range prefer rocky woodland streams, seepages, and springs, while those in the south favor floodplains, sloughs, and muddy places along upland streams. They are most common where water is running or trickling. They hide under various objects, such as leaves or rocks, either in or near water. Alternatively, they may enter burrows for protection. The dusky salamander lays its eggs close to water under moss or rocks, in logs, or in stream-bank cavities. The larval stage which follows is normally aquatic.

Pygmy salamander Species of amphibian

The pygmy salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States in the southern Appalachians in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Northern two-lined salamander Species of amphibian

The northern two-lined salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends to be found in damp ground, but usually not near open water.

Southern two-lined salamander Species of amphibian

The southern two-lined salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, and freshwater springs.

Three-lined salamander Species of amphibian

The three-lined salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the south-eastern United States.

Junaluska salamander Species of amphibian

The Junaluska salamander is a species of lungless salamander native to the south-eastern United States. It was first described by David M. Sever, Harold M. Dundee, and Charles D. Sullivan who found the species in the range from the Cheoah River, Santeetlah Creek, and Tululah Creek in Graham County of North Carolina. Adults of this species can be found near large, rocky streams and on rainy nights on roads in the areas specified. The salamander is characterized by brownish-yellow coloration with a series of small dots along the body and a robust build compared to the other salamanders in Eurycea. The Junaluska salamander's breeding habits tend to be in large streams where the eggs are laid and attached to the bottom of rocks in the streams where they are found. According to the overall conservation listing for IUCN, this species is listed as Vulnerable. Conservation acts are important in both North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, since the population of this species in each state is so small.

Georgetown salamander Species of amphibian

The Georgetown salamander, also known as the San Gabriel Springs salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to springs in Williamson County, Texas, near Lake Georgetown. It inhabits freshwater springs and, possibly, caves. It is threatened by habitat loss. Many of the springs where this species formerly lived have been destroyed by development, including creation of Lake Georgetown. The specific name refers to the few remaining remnants of habitat for this species.

Blue Ridge two-lined salamander Species of amphibian

The Blue Ridge two-lined salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Tennessee cave salamander Species of amphibian

The Tennessee cave salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Its natural habitats are streams in caves. It is threatened by habitat destruction.

Red salamander Species of amphibian

The red salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the eastern United States. Its skin is orange/red with random black spots. Its habitats are temperate forests, small creeks, ponds, forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater, trees springs. Overall this species is common and widespread, but locally it has declined because of habitat loss and it is considered threatened in Indiana. Red salamanders eat insects, earthworms, spiders, small crustaceans, snails and smaller salamanders. The red salamander, as a member of the family Plethodontidae, lacks lungs and respires through its skin.

Spotted-tail salamander Species of amphibian

The spotted-tail salamander, also known as a "cave salamander", is a species of brook salamander.

Flame chub Species of fish

The flame chub is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae found only in the United States. Its range broadly follows the Tennessee River from above Knoxville, Tennessee, to the mouth of the Duck River. Historically the species was found in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. The preferred habitat of flame chub is in small flowing streams often associated with springs.

The Carolina Sandhills salamander, is a species of lungless salamander endemic to the state of North Carolina in the United States, where it is only found in the Sandhills region. These species are known for their coloration and ecology. Researchers decades ago separated the species into northern and southern groups and found that the southern and northern Sandhill salamanders differ in coloration, size, and natural history.

References


  1. Kozak, K. (2006). "Gene lineages and eastern North American palaeodrainage basins: phylogeography and speciation in salamanders of the Eurycea bislineata species complex". Molecular Ecology. 15: 191-207. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02757.x. PMID   16367840.