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Home/Species/ Fourche Mountain Salamander

Plethodon fourchensis

Duncan and Highton, 1979

Fourche Mountain Salamander

G2Imperiled Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G2ImperiledGlobal Rank
Near threatenedIUCN
HighThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105190
Element CodeAAAAD12060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNNear threatened
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusPlethodon
Concept Reference
Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Shepard and Burbrink (2009) sequenced two mitochondrial genes in a study of geographic variation in the species and found four subgroups but did not suggest changes in the taxonomy (Crother 2017).

This salamander was known as the Buck Knob variant of P. ouachitae until 1979, when Duncan and Highton recognized it as a separate species, based on electrophoretic data. Petranka (1998) regarded Plethodon fourchensis as conspecific with P. ouachitae.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-11-16
Change Date2023-11-16
Edition Date2023-11-16
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G. (2007), Jackson, D. R. (2019), rev. N. Sears (2023)
Threat ImpactHigh
Range Extent100-250 square km (about 40-100 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
The species' small range is confined to forested areas of mountains in western Arkansas; the entire known range is within the Ouachita National Forest, which affords some protection, although potential threats include timbering and long-term microhabitat change in association with climate change.
Range Extent Comments
The range includes Fourche Mountain and Irons Fork Mountain, Polk and Scott counties, west-central Arkansas; elevational range is given as 1,560–2,400 feet (503–730 meters) (Conant and Collins 1991, Trauth et al. 2004, Anthony 2005, Powell et al. 2016).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by many occurrences (subpopulations) that are well distributed throughout the range. On a coarse-scale map, Trauth et al. (2004) mapped 10 localities.
Threat Impact Comments
Habitat loss and degradation are potential threats, but all known locations of this salamander are within the Ouachita National Forest, which affords some level of protection (Warriner 2002). Potential microhabitat changes associated with global warming may be the greatest threat to long-term viability of all occurrences.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from all other Plethodon species by possessing irregular two longitudinal rows of large dorsal white spots (Conant and Collins 1991, Robison and Allen 1995).

Habitat

Moist, shady, hardwood and mixed pine forests; lives under logs, forest litter, and rocks.

Ecology

Often infested with chiggers.

Reproduction

Terrestrial breeder with no free-living larval stage. Egg laying mainly in June; females probably reproduce biennially (Taylor et al. 1990).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - Mixed
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
ProvinceRankNative
ArkansasS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceSmall (1-10%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (1)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainOuachita National Forest9,755
References (21)
  1. Anthony, C. D. 2005. <i>Plethodon fourchensis</i> Duncan and Highton, 1979. Fourche Mountain salamander. Page 808 in M. Lannoo, editor. Amphibian declines: the conservation status of United States species. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Blair, A. P., and H. L. Lindsay, Jr. 1965. Color pattern variation and distribution of two large <i>Plethodon </i>salamanders endemic to the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Copeia 1965:331-335.
  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. Duncan, R., and R. Highton. 1979. Genetic relationships of the eastern large <i>Plethodon </i>of the Ouachita Mountains. Copeia 1979:95-110.
  8. Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
  9. 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
  10. Highton, R. 1986. Plethodon fourchensis. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 391:1.
  11. Lohoefener, R., and R. L. Jones. 1991. Status survey of <i>Plethodon fourchensis</i> and <i>P. caddoensis</i>. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Office, Status Survey Report, Jackson, Mississippi.
  12. 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.
  13. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  14. Powell, R., R. Conant, and J. T. Collins. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, fourth edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York. 512 pp.
  15. Robison, H.W. and R.T. Allen. 1995. Only in Arkansas: A Study of the Endemic Plants and Animals of the State. University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
  16. Shepard, D. B., and F. T. Burbrink. 2009. Phylogeographic and demographic effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations in a montane salamander, <i>Plethodon fourchensis</i>. Molecular Ecology 18(10):2243-2262.
  17. Taylor, C. L., R. F. Wilkinson, Jr., and C. L. Peterson. 1990. Reproductive patterns of five plethodontid salamanders from the Ouachita Mountains. Southwestern Naturalist 35:468-472.
  18. Trauth, S. E., and J. D. Wilhide. 1999. Status of three plethodontid salamanders (genus <i>Plethodon</i>) from the Ouachita National Forest of southwestern Arkansas. Journal of the Arkansas Avademy of Science 53:125-137.
  19. Trauth, S. E., H. W. Robison, and M. V. Plummer. 2004. The amphibians and reptiles of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press.
  20. Wake, D. B., and E. L. Jockusch. 2000. Detecting species borders using diverse data sets: examples from plethodontid salamanders in California. Pages 95-119 in Bruce, R. C., R. G. Jaeger, and L. D. Houck, editors. The biology of plethodontid salamanders. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.
  21. Warriner, M. D. 2002. Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Rare Amphibian Fact Sheet, Fourche Mountain Salamander - <i>Plethodon fourchensis</i>.