Home/Species/ Three-lined Salamander

Eurycea guttolineata

(Holbrook, 1838)

Three-lined Salamander

G5Secure Found in 15 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

MediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102029

Element CodeAAAAD05290

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassAmphibia

OrderCaudata

FamilyPlethodontidae

GenusEurycea

Synonyms

Eurycea longicauda guttolineata(Holbrook, 1838)

Concept Reference

Carlin, J. L. 1997. Genetic and morphological differentiation between Eurycea longicauda longicauda and E. guttolineata (Caudata: Plethodontidae). Herpetologica 53:206-217.

Taxonomic Comments

Eurycea guttolineata formerly was included in Eurycea longicauda. Martof et al. (1980) regarded E. longicauda and E. guttolineata as distinct species, based mainly on sympatry between guttolineata and longicauda without evidence of intergradation along the Blue Ridge escarpment. However, Ireland (1979) stated that the evidence is inconclusive and noted that guttolineata and longicauda intergrade in northern Alabama and surrounding areas (Valentine 1962, Mount 1975). On this evidence, Ireland (1979), Dundee and Rossman (1989), Conant and Collins (1991), and some other recent herpetofaunal accounts treated guttolineata as a subspecies of E. longicauda. Carlin (1997) examined genetic and morphological variation in the putative intergrade zone and found several fixed allozyme differences and no support for intergrade specimens or a zone of intermediates; he concluded that the two taxa are distinct species. Bonett et al. (2014 "2013") recovered this species to be the sister taxon of Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Frost 2020).

Conservation Status

Review Date2002-03-25

Change Date2001-10-18

Edition Date2002-03-25

Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.

Threat ImpactMedium

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Rank Reasons

Secure in large range in southeastern United States.

Range Extent Comments

Virginia and Tennessee south though the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, including eastern Louisiana and western Florida (Conant and Collins 1991, Carlin 1997).

Occurrences Comments

Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout the range.

Threat Impact Comments

Basically unthreatened, but widespread loss of bottomland hardwood forests likely has resulted in the loss of many populations (Petranka 1998).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Forested floodplains, ditches, damp streamsides, seepage springs. May disperse into wooded terrestrial habitats in wet weather. Hides in rock crevices, crayfish burrows, and under rocks, logs, and other debris. Eggs are laid in underground crevices associated with springs, temporary pools, and slow-moving streams; under rocks in streams; in bogs; or in woodland ponds.

Reproduction

Egg deposition occurs in late fall or early winter. Lays several dozen eggs singly or in small clusters. Aquatic larvae hatch in 6-8 weeks, metamorphose in 5-6 months at low elevations and 14-15 months at higher elevations (Freeman and Bruce 2001), mature in 1-2 years.

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest - Hardwood

Palustrine Habitats

TEMPORARY POOLFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Georgia	S4	Yes
Florida	S3	Yes
Kentucky	S2	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
North Carolina	S5	Yes
Mississippi	S5	Yes
Louisiana	S3	Yes
Tennessee	S5	Yes
Alabama	S5	Yes
South Carolina	S4	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
5 - Biological resource use	—	—	High (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting	—	—	High (continuing)
9 - Pollution	—	—	High (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents	—	—	High (continuing)

Roadless Areas (15)

Alabama (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Blue Mountain	Talladega National Forest	4,986

Florida (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Clear Lake	Apalachicola National Forest	5,592
Gum Bay	Apalachicola National Forest	11,645

Georgia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Mountain	Chattahoochee National Forest	1,974

North Carolina (9)

Area	Forest	Acres
Barkers Creek (addition)	Nantahala National Forest	975
Cheoah Bald	Nantahala National Forest	7,795
Harper Creek	Pisgah National Forest	7,325
Laurel Mountain	Pisgah National Forest	5,683
Linville Gorge Addition	Pisgah National Forest	2,809
Lost Cove	Pisgah National Forest	5,944
South Mills River	Pisgah National Forest	8,588
Tusquitee Bald	Nantahala National Forest	13,670
Wilson Creek	Pisgah National Forest	4,863

South Carolina (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bee Cove	Sumter National Forest	3,025
Big Mountain	Sumter National Forest	2,337

References (18)

Ashton, R. E., Jr., and P. S. Ashton. 1988. Handbook of reptiles and amphibians of Florida. Part Three. The amphibians. Windward Publ. Co., Miami.
Barbour, R. W. 1971. Amphibians and reptiles of Kentucky. Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington. x + 334 pp.
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
Blackburn, L., P. Nanjappa, and M. J. Lannoo. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Copyright, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA.
Bonett, R. M., M. A. Steffen, S. M. Lambert, J. J. Wiens, and P. T. Chippindale. 2014. Evolution of paedomorphosis in plethodontid salamanders: ecological correlated and re-evolution of metamorphosis. Evolution 68: 466-482.
Carlin, J. L. 1997. Genetic and morphological differentiation between Eurycea longicauda longicauda and E. guttolineata (Caudata: Plethodontidae). Herpetologica 53:206-217.
Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xvii + 429 pp.
Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.
Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The amphibians and reptiles of Louisiana. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.
Freeman, S. L., and R. C. Bruce. 2001. Larval period and metamorphosis of the three-lined salamander, Eurycea guttolineata (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), in the Chattooga River watershed. American Midland Naturalist 145:194-200.
Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
Green, N. B., and T. K. Pauley. 1987. Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. xi + 241 pp.
Ireland, P.H. 1979. Eurycea longicauda. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 221:1-4.
Martof, B. S., W. M. Palmer, J. R. Bailey, and J. R. Harrison, III. 1980. Amphibians and reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 264 pp.
Mount, R. H. 1975. The reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. vii + 347 pp.
Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Valentine, B. D. 1962. Intergrading populations and distribution of the salamander EURYCEA LONGICAUDA in the Gulf states. J. Ohio Herpetol. Soc. 3(3):42-51.

Eurycea guttolineata

Habitat

Reproduction

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