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Plethodon jordani

Blatchley, 1901

Red-cheeked Salamander

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Near threatenedIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101045
Element CodeAAAAD12090
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNNear threatened
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusPlethodon
Other Common Names
red-cheeked salamander (EN)
Concept Reference
Highton, R., and R. B. Peabody. 2000. Geographic protein variation and speciation in salamanders of the Plethodon jordani and Plethodon glutinosus complexes in the southern Appalachian Mountains with the description of four new species. Pages 31-93 in R. C. Bruce, R. G. Jaeger, and L. D. Houck, editors. The biology of plethodontid salamanders. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. xiii + 485 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Highton and Peabody (2000) examined allozyme and morphological variation in the Plethodon jordani and P. glutinosus complexes, and they also looked at interactions in contact zones. As a result of these studies, Highton and Peabody split P. jordani into multiple species as follows: P. jordani, P. montanus, P. metcalfi, P. amplus, P. meridianus, P. shermani, and P. cheoah. This revision was adopted by Crother et al. (2000). See Weisrock and Larson (2006) for discussion on the phylogenetic status of this species.
Conservation Status
Review Date2011-05-06
Change Date2011-05-06
Edition Date2011-05-06
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
Generally abundant within the small range, which is entirely within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Range Extent Comments
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, from Mount Sterling Gap in the east to the slopes of Gregory Bald in the west (Dodd 2004). Gregory Bald and Great Smoky isolates, and the extreme northern part of the Balsam isolate, of the Plethodon jordani complex, North Carolina and Tennessee (Highton and Peabodt 2000). Elevational range is at least 768-2,025 m (Highton and Peabody 2000, Dodd 2004).
Occurrences Comments
Number of distinct occurrences has not been determined. Dodd (2004) mapped more than 100 collection/observation sites in the Great Smokies, representing at least several dozen distinct occurrences.
Threat Impact Comments
This species is protected from the detrimental effects of clearcutting (Ash 1997, Petranka et al. 1993, Petranka 1999, Ash and Pollock 1999) by occurring completely within a national park. Global warming, acid rain, balsam woolly adelgid infestations, and other factors that negatively affect spruce-fir forests are potential threats.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Moist dense forest (hardwood, coniferous, or mixed) with mossy logs and slabs of rock. Common in many second-growth forests. Occupies burrows, leaf litter, or spaces under rocks and logs during day. Eggs are laid probably in underground cavities.

Ecology

Has returned to home burrow after being displaced 500 ft. In western North Carolina, home range fixed, 0.05-6.71 sq m (average 1.5-5.0 sq m), mostly separate from individuals of same sex or age (Nishikawa 1990). Density estimates range from 0.18/sq. m to 0.86/sq m (see Petranka et al. 1993). Based on removal sampling in 30 x 30 m plots in North Carolina, Petranka and Starnes (2001) estimated minimum density at 1,510 individuals per hectare.

Reproduction

Terrestrial hatchlings first appear on surface in spring. Some females first oviposit at 4 years; females 6 years old or older appear to oviposit in alternate years (Hairston 1983).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - Mixed
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeS2Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource use——Insignificant/negligible or past
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting——Insignificant/negligible or past
9 - Pollution——High (continuing)
9.5 - Air-borne pollutants——High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather——High (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (2)
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Yellowhammer Branch (add.)Nantahala National Forest1,255
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Add.Cherokee National Forest1,396
References (27)
  1. Ash, A. N. 1997. Disappearance and return of plethodontid salamanders to clearcut plots in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Conservation Biology 11:983-989.
  2. Ash, A. N., and K. H. Pollock. 1999. Clearcuts, salamanders, and field studies. Conservation Biology 13:206-208.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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]
  7. Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Queiroz, D. R. Frost, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., T. W. Taggart, S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2000 [2001]. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 29. 82 pp.
  8. Dawson, W. R., J. D. Ligon, and J. R. Murphy. 1987. Report of the Scientific Advisory Panel on the Spotted Owl. Condor 89:205-229.
  9. Dodd, C. K., Jr. 2004. The amphibians of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. xvii + 283 pp.
  10. 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
  11. Hairston, N. G. 1983. Growth, survival and reproduction of PLETHODON JORDANI: trade-offs between selective pressures. Copeia 1983:1024-1035.
  12. Hairston, N. G., Sr., and R. H. Wiley. 1993. No decline in salamander (Amphibia: Caudata) populations: a twenty-year study in the southern Appalachians. Brimleyana 18:59-64.
  13. Hairston, N.G., Sr., Wiley, R.H., Smith, C.K., and Kneidel, K.A. 1992. The dynamics of two hybrid zones in Appalachian salamanders of the genus <i>Plethodon</i>. Evolution 46:930-938.
  14. Highton, R. 1973. <i>Plethodon jordani</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 130.1-130.4.
  15. Highton, R. 1983 [1984]. A new species of woodland salamanders of the <i>Plethodon glutinosus</i> group from the southern Appalachian Mountains. Brimleyana 9:1-20.
  16. Highton, R. 1998. Frequency of hybrids between introduced and native populations of the salamander PLETHODON JORDANI in their first generation of sympatry. Herpetologica 54:143-153.
  17. Highton, R., and R. B. Peabody. 2000. Geographic protein variation and speciation in salamanders of the <i>Plethodon jordani </i>and <i>Plethodon glutinosus</i> complexes in the southern Appalachian Mountains with the description of four new species. Pages 31-93 in R. C. Bruce, R. G. Jaeger, and L. D. Houck, editors. The biology of plethodontid salamanders. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. xiii + 485 pp.
  18. Mahoney, M. J. 2001. Molecular systematics of <i>Plethodon </i>and <i>Aneides </i>(Caudata: Plethodontini): phylogenetic analysis of an old and rapid radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 18:174-188.
  19. 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.
  20. Mitchell, J. C., and J. A. Taylor. 1986. Predator-prey size relationships in a North Carolina population of PLETHODON JORDANI. J. Herpetol. 20:562-566.
  21. Nishikawa, K. C. 1990. Intraspecific spatial relationships of two species of terrestrial salamanders. Copeia 1990:418-426.
  22. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  23. Petranka, J. W. 1999. Recovery of salamanders after clearcutting in the southern Appalachians: a critique of Ash's estimates. Conservation Biology 13:203-205.
  24. Petranka, J. W., and S. S. Murray. 2001. Effectiveness of removal sampling for determining salamander density and biomass: a case study in an Appalachian streamside community. Journal of Herpetology 35:36-44.
  25. Petranka, J. W., M. E. Eldridge, and K. E. Haley. 1993. Effects of timber harvesting on southern Appalachian salamanders. Conservation Biology 7(2): 363-370.
  26. Pope, C. H. 1928. Some Plethodontid Salamanders from North Carolina and Kentucky with the description of a new race of <i>Leurognathus</i>. American Museum Novitates 306: 1-19.
  27. Weisrock, D. W., and A. Larson. 2006. Testing hypotheses of speciation in the <i>Plethodon jordani</i> species complex with allozymes and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. London 89:25-51.