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Home/Species/ Nantahala Black-bellied Salamander

Desmognathus amphileucus

Bishop, 1941

Nantahala Black-bellied Salamander

G5Secure Found in 31 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1256181
Element CodeAAAAD03260
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusDesmognathus
Synonyms
Desmognathus quadramaculatus amphileucusBishop, 1941
Other Common Names
Southern Black-bellied Salamander (ES) White-Headed Salamander (EN)
Concept Reference
Pyron, R. A. and D. A. Beamer. 2022b. 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 27(1): 1-43.
Taxonomic Comments
Pyron and Beamer (2022) revised the taxonomy of black-bellied salamanders and removed Desmognathus amphileucus from the synonymy of nominal D. 'quadramaculatus' on the basis of molecular, allozymic, and morphological evidence. Designated a junior subjective synonym of D. ‘quadramaculatus’ by Pope (1949).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-08-01
Change Date2024-08-01
Edition Date2024-08-01
Edition AuthorsGundy, R. L. (2024)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
This species is limited to the southern Appalachians in the southeastern U.S. It is numerous and widespread throughout the range. Threat impacts of collection for fishing bait and logging are considered low at this time.
Range Extent Comments
This species occurs in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains south of the Great Smoky Mountains and mostly west of the French Broad River (southwestern North Carolina, extreme western South Carolina, extreme southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia, USA). Using iNaturalist (2024) records, range extent is estimated to be approximately 26,056 km².

Other isolated Piedmont populations in Georgia and South Carolina may be the result of bait-bucket introductions (Frost 2022, Pyron and Beamer 2022, Hutcheson et al. 2024).
Occurrences Comments
Using iNaturalist (2024) records and applying a 3 km separation distance, there are approximately 209 occurrences.
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known at this time. Collection from the wild as fishing bait has the potential to deplete local populations, but also presents the opportunity for this species to expand beyond its natural range (Hutcheson et al. 2024). It is likely that collection is limited to easily accessible sites and not impacting the entire population. Much of the range is protected in national forests (Pyron and Beamer 2022) which are subject to logging practices which could have local impacts on this species (Petranka et al. 1993).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

In or along swift, boulder-strewn mountain streams. Also near waterfalls and places where cold water drips or seeps. Refuges are in rock cevices or in burrows (Camp and Lee 1996). Usually under rocks in daytime. Sometimes basks in sun on wet rocks. Eggs are laid on undersides of rocks or on tree roots in streambed, apparently in headwater tributaries in North Carolina (Bruce 1985).

Ecology

In Georgia, mean home range size was 1207 sq. cm; mean density was 1.4 per sq. m; defended territory of repeatedly used refugia (Camp and Lee 1996). The trematode (Metagonimoides oregonensis) uses this species as a secondary host, but any impacts are unknown (Kework et al. 2024).

Reproduction

Lays up to about 60 eggs in June-July, singly or in cluster. Female remains with eggs until hatching. Hatching occurs in July (Austin and Camp 1992). Larval period is 3-4 years (Bruce 1985, Bruce 1988, Austin and Camp 1992, Castanet et al. 1996). Hatchlings ~16 mm SVL (Organ 1961, Pyron and Beamer 2022). In North Carolina, age of first reproduction was estimated at 7-10 years in females and 6-8 years in males (Castanet et al. 1996, Bruce et al. 2002).
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource useSmall (1-10%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
5.1 - Hunting & collecting terrestrial animalsRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
5.1.1 - Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)Restricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingLarge (31-70%)Serious - slightHigh (continuing)
5.3.4 - Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]Large (31-70%)Serious - slightHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (31)
Georgia (13)
AreaForestAcres
Ben GapChattahoochee National Forest1,292
Big MountainChattahoochee National Forest1,974
Boggs CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,073
Cedar MountainChattahoochee National Forest1,083
Helton CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,348
Indian Grave GapChattahoochee National Forest1,020
Joe GapChattahoochee National Forest5,321
Lance CreekChattahoochee National Forest9,025
Miller CreekChattahoochee National Forest701
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
Rocky MountainChattahoochee National Forest4,269
Sarah's CreekChattahoochee National Forest6,888
Tripp BranchChattahoochee National Forest615
North Carolina (12)
AreaForestAcres
Barkers Creek (addition)Nantahala National Forest975
Big Indian (addition)Nantahala National Forest1,155
Boteler PeakNantahala National Forest4,205
Cheoah BaldNantahala National Forest7,795
Chunky Gal (addition)Nantahala National Forest3,336
Graveyard Ridge (addition)Pisgah National Forest1,958
Little Indian (addition)Nantahala National Forest640
Overflow CreekNantahala National Forest3,379
Sam Knob (addition)Pisgah National Forest2,576
SnowbirdNantahala National Forest8,489
Tusquitee BaldNantahala National Forest13,670
Wesser BaldNantahala National Forest4,061
South Carolina (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bee CoveSumter National Forest3,025
Big MountainSumter National Forest2,337
Ellicott Rock 1Sumter National Forest301
Tennessee (3)
AreaForestAcres
Brushy RidgeCherokee National Forest7,469
Sycamore CreekCherokee National Forest6,984
Upper Bald RiverCherokee National Forest9,202
References (23)
  1. Austin, R. M., Jr., and C. D. Camp. 1992. Larval development of black-bellied salamanders, <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i>, in northeastern Georgia. Herpetologica 48: 313-317.
  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. Bruce, R. C. 1985. Larval periods, population structure and the effects of stream drift in larvae of the salamanders <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i> and <i>Leurognathus marmoratus</i> in a southern Appalachian stream. Copeia 1985: 847-854.
  4. Bruce, R. C. 1988. Life history variation in the salamander <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i>. Herpetologica 44: 218-227.
  5. Bruce, R. C., J. Castanet, and H. Francillon-Viellot. 2002. Skeletochronological analysis of variation in age structure, body size, and life history in three species of desmognathine salamanders. Herpetologica 58:181-193.
  6. Camp, C. D., and D. G. Lovell. 1989. Fishing for "spring lizards": a technique for collecting blackbelly salamanders. Herpetol. Rev. 20:47.
  7. Camp, C. D., and T. P. Lee. 1996. Intraspecific spacing and interaction within a population of <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i>. Copeia 1996: 78-84.
  8. Castanet, J., H. Francillon-Vieillot, and R. C. Bruce. 1996. Age estimation in desmognathine salamanders assessed by skeletochronology. Herpetologica 52:160-171.
  9. 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.
  10. Formanowicz, D. R., Jr., and E. D. Brodie, Jr. 1993. Size-mediated predation pressure in a salamander community. Herpetologica 49:265-270.
  11. Frost, D. R. 2022. Updates posted in Frost, D. R. 2021. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1. Electronic Database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. doi.org/10.5531/db.vz.0001
  12. Funk, A. T., B. H. Holt, and T. W. Piarson. 2022. Evaluation of fecal metabarcoding for studying the diets of sympatric dusky salamanders (<i>Desmognathus</i>). Herpetological Conservation and Biology 17(3): 478–488.
  13. 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.
  14. Huheey, J. E., and A. Stupka. 1967. Amphibians and reptiles of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville. ix + 98 pp.
  15. Hutcheson, K. G., T. W. Pierson, and J. C. Maerz. 2024. The origin and ecology of a likely introduced population of southern black-bellied salamanders (<i>Desmognathus amphileucus</i>). Southeastern Naturalist 23(1): 29-42.
  16. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  17. Kework, C. A., J. N. Ash, and C. D. Camp. 2024. Factors affecting infection levels in the salamander host <i>Desmognathus amphileucus</i> by a digenetic trematode within Appalachian headwater streams. Herpetologica, unpublished manuscript.
  18. 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.
  19. Merritt, D. S. 2005. Analysis of genotypic and phenotypic differences in <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i> across the Southern Appalachians. M.S. Thesis, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia:1-56.
  20. Peterman, W. E., J. A. Crawford, and R. D. Semlitsch. 2008. Productivity and significance of headwater streams: population structure and biomass of the black-bellied salamander (<i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i>). Freshwater Biology 53: 347–357.
  21. 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.
  22. Pyron, R. A. and D. A. Beamer. 2022b. Nomenclatural solutions for diagnosing 'cryptic' species using molecular and morphological data facilitate a taxonomic revision of the Black-bellied Salamanders (Urodela, <i>Desmognathus </i>'<i>quadramaculatus</i>') from the southern Appalachian Mountains. Bionomina 27(1): 1-43.
  23. Valentine, B.D. 1974. <i>Desmognathus quadramaculatus</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 153:1-4.