| Desmognathus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ocoee salamander (Desmognathus ocoee) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Plethodontinae |
| Genus: | Desmognathus Baird, 1850 |
| Species | |
See table. | |
Desmognathus is a genus of lungless salamanders in the family Plethodontidae known as dusky salamanders. [1] [2] They range throughout the eastern United States as far west as Texas, and north to southeastern Canada. [1]
Species of the genus Desmognathus have a unique jaw-opening mechanism where the lower jaw is stationary and the skull swings open. [3] There are additional stalked condyles, an atlanto-mandibular ligament, along with other skeletal and musculature features that have evolved to accompany this type of jaw-opening mechanism. [3] Additionally, they are known to exhibit maternal care by brooding over their eggs. [3]
This genus includes the following 39-40 species: [1]
| Binomial Name and Author | Common Name |
|---|---|
| Desmognathus abditus Anderson & Tilley, 2003 | Cumberland dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus adatsihi Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Cherokee mountain dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus aeneus Brown & Bishop, 1947 | Seepage salamander |
| Desmognathus amphileucus Bishop, 1941 | Nantahala blackbelly salamander |
| Desmognathus anicetus Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Foothills dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus apalachicolae Means & Karlin, 1989 | Apalachicola dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus aureatus (Martof, 1956) | Golden shovelnose salamander |
| Desmognathus auriculatus (Holbrook, 1838) | Holbrook's southern dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus bairdi Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Piedmont dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus balsameus Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Great Balsams mountain dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus brimleyorum Stejneger, 1895 | Ouachita dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus campi Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Savannah dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus carolinensis Dunn, 1916 | Carolina mountain dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus catahoula Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Catahoula spotted dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus cheaha Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Talladega seal salamander |
| Desmognathus conanti Rossman, 1958 | Spotted dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus folkertsi Camp, Tilley, Austin & Marshall, 2002 | Dwarf blackbelly salamander |
| Desmognathus fuscus (Rafinesque, 1820) | Northern dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus gvnigeusgwotli Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Cherokee blackbelly salamander |
| Desmognathus imitator Dunn, 1927 | Imitator salamander |
| Desmognathus intermedius (Pope, 1928) | Central shovelnose salamander |
| Desmognathus kanawha Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Kanawha blackbelly salamander |
| Desmognathus lycos Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Wolf dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus marmoratus (Moore, 1899) | Shovelnose salamander |
| Desmognathus mavrokoilius Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Pisgah blackbelly salamander |
| Desmognathus monticola Dunn, 1916 | Seal salamander |
| Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859 | Allegheny mountain dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus ocoee Nicholls, 1949 | Ocoee dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus orestes Tilley & Mahoney, 1996 | Blue Ridge dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus organi Crespi & Browne, 2010 | Northern pygmy salamander |
| Desmognathus pascagoula Pyron, O'Connell, Lamb, and Beamer, 2022 | Pascagoula dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus perlapsus Neill, 1950 | Tallulah dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus planiceps Newman, 1955 | Flat-headed salamander |
| Desmognathus quadramaculatus (Holbrook, 1840) | Blackbelly salamander (defunct) |
| Desmognathus santeetlah Tilley, 1981 | Santeetlah dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus tilleyi Pyron and Beamer, 2023 | Max Patch dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus valentinei Means, Lamb, and Bernardo, 2017 | Valentine's southern dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus valtos Pyron and Beamer, 2022 | Carolina swamp dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus welteri Barbour, 1950 | Black Mountain dusky salamander |
| Desmognathus wrighti King, 1936 | Pygmy salamander |
Amphiuma is a genus of aquatic salamanders from the United States, the only extant genus within the family Amphiumidae. They are colloquially known as amphiumas. They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders, and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo. Amphiuma exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human.
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, mainland Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.
Climbing salamanders is the common name for plethodontid (lungless) salamanders of the genus Aneides. It contains 10 species native to North America, distributed between the Pacific Coast, Sacramento Mountains, and Appalachian Mountains. As their common name suggests, most of these species have prehensile tails and are quite mobile in trees.
Bolitoglossa is a genus of lungless salamanders, also called mushroom-tongued salamanders, tropical climbing salamanders, or web-footed salamanders, in the family Plethodontidae. Their range is between northern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, northeastern Brazil, and central Bolivia. Neotropical salamanders of the Bolitoglossa make up the largest genus in the order Caudata, consisting of approximately one-fifth of all known species of salamanders. Adult salamanders range anywhere from 45mm to 200mm in length depending on their specific species. They are notorious for their ability to project their tongue at prey items, as indicated from their name. They are also known for their webbed feet, having significantly more webbing than any other species outside their genus with the exception of the cave-dwelling Mexican bolitoglossine Chiropterotriton magnipes. Although webbed feet are a common characteristic of these salamanders, only about half of the species in this genus contain webbed feet.
Chiropterotriton, also known as splayfoot salamanders or flat-footed salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. The genus is endemic to Mexico.
Dendrotriton or bromeliad salamanders is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to South and Central America: from Southwestern Chiapas, Mexico, to Honduras. These are lungless species possessing a slender body, long tail and prominent eyes. They inhabit high-elevation forests with high humidity.
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.
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 several distinct species, the southern dusky salamanders. 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 to South Carolina. 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.
The imitator salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
The shovelnose salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States.
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. Desmognathus wrighti is a member of the family Plethodontidae and is commonly known as the pygmy salamander. As the name suggest the pygmy salamander is the smallest of the nineteen species in the genus Desmognathus. D. wrighti undergoes direct development and does not have a free-living larval stage. Only two other taxa in Desmognathus, D. aeneus and D. organi, exhibit direct development along with the pygmy salamander. In the genus Desmognathus, body size, habitat preferences, and patterns used by males during courtship are quite variable. D. wrighti courtship is noted by the male biting and seizing its partner in order to provide them with a chemical stimulus. The pygmy salamander can be found in the southern Appalachians of the United States in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Geographical distribution of the Desmognathus wrighti is fragmented and the highest abundance of the species can be found at high elevations in spruce and fir tree forest.
Gyrinophilus, the spring salamanders, are a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. The genus is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States and Canada. Their habitat is under rocks in cold, clear springs, in wet caves, and in streams in forested areas.
Nototriton, commonly referred to as moss salamanders is a genus in the salamander family Plethodontidae, which is characterized by their absence of lungs; they instead achieve respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. They range from Central Costa Rica to north-central and western Honduras reaching also to eastern Guatemala.
The red-cheeked salamander, also known as the Jordan's salamander, Jordan's redcheek salamander, or Appalachian woodland salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
Pseudotriton is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to eastern and southern United States, from New York south to Florida and west to southern Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and eastern Louisiana. They are commonly known as red salamanders or mud salamanders.
Thorius, also known as minute salamanders, pigmy salamanders, or Mexican pigmy salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to Mexico and found in southern Veracruz and Puebla to Guerrero and Oaxaca.
Isthmura is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to Mexico. The genus, which corresponds to the former "Pseudoeurycea bellii species group" and was first described as a subgenus of Pseudoeurycea, was raised to full generic level in 2015 in order to preserve Ixalotriton and Bolitoglossa while avoiding paraphyly of Pseudoeurycea.
The northern pygmy salamander is a terrestrial species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae and genus Desmognathus. Along with the southern pygmy and the seepage salamander, these are some of the smallest salamander species in North America and can be found in higher elevations in the southern Appalachians.
Valentine's southern dusky salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States.
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