Nantahala black-bellied salamander explained

General

The Nantahala black-bellied salamander or southern black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus amphileucus) is a species of lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the eastern United States, where it is only known from the southern Appalachian Mountains.^[1]

Initially described in 1941 as a subspecies of the blackbelly salamander ("D. quadramaculatus"), a 2022 study found significant genetic divergence within the species, but also found that the name D. quadramaculatus had in fact been coined for the northern dusky salamander rather than the blackbelly salamander. D. amphileucus, already having previously received a name, was uplifted as a distinct species.^{[2] [3]}

Morphology

Desmognathus amphileucus is a medium-sized salamander that can grow up to 18 centimeters.^[4]

Distribution

It is known from southwestern North Carolina, extreme western South Carolina, extreme southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. It is restricted to the Blue Ridge Mountains subrange, with its range being roughly bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains to the north and the French Broad River to the east. Isolated populations are known from the Piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina that may have resulted from introductions via fishing bait buckets.^[5]

Behavior

The southern black-bellied salamander are mostly nocturnal^[6] but they will stay in a semi-active state under a cover object during the day.^[7] They will also avoid light.^[8]

Predators

Larval salamanders are predated on by fish and larger salamanders/larvae.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Frost . Darrel R. . Desmognathus amphileucus Bishop, 1941 . Amphibian Species of the World.
2. Pyron . R. Alexander . Beamer . David A. . 2022-07-19 . Nomenclatural solutions for diagnosing 'cryptic' species using molecular and morphological data facilitate a taxonomic revision of the Black-bellied Salamanders (Urodela, Desmognathus 'quadramaculatus') from the southern Appalachian Mountains . Bionomina . en . 27 . 1 . 1–43 . 10.11646/bionomina.27.1.1 . 1179-7657.
3. Web site: Three New Species of Black-Bellied Salamander Found in Southern Appalachian Mountains Media Relations The George Washington University . 2024-01-30 . Media Relations . en.
4. Verrell, P. (1999), Bracketing the extremes: courtship behaviour of the smallest- and largest-bodied species in the salamander genus Desmognathus (Plethodontidae: Desmognathinae). Journal of Zoology, 247: 105-111.
5. Web site: NatureServe Explorer 2.0 . 2024-01-30 . explorer.natureserve.org.
6. Davic, R. D. (1991). Ontogenetic Shift in Diet of Desmognathus quadramaculatus. Journal of Herpetology, 25(1), 108–111. https://doi.org/10.2307/1564806
7. Keen, W. H. (1985). Habitat Selection by Two Streamside Plethodontid Salamanders. Oecologia, 66(3), 437–442. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4217650
8. Dempsey, B. L., Roden, J. W., & Bidwell, J. R. (2022). Predator-avoidance of larval black-bellied salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) in response to cues from native and nonnative salmonids. Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, 34(6), 602–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2021.1988720
9. Liford, A. N., & Cecala, K. K. (2017). Does riparian disturbance alter stream amphibian antipredator behaviors? Canadian Journal of Zoology, 95(2), 75–79. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0113