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Home/Species/ Northern Two-lined Salamander

Eurycea bislineata

(Green, 1818)

Northern Two-lined Salamander

G5Secure Found in 46 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105466
Element CodeAAAAD05010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusEurycea
Synonyms
Eurycea bislineata bislineataGreen
Other Common Names
northern two-lined salamander (EN) Salamandre à deux lignes (FR)
Concept Reference
Stuart, B. L., D. A. Beamer, D. A. Farrington, J. C. Beane, A. A. Chek, L. T. Pusser, H. E. Som, D. Stephan, D. M. Sever, and A. L. Braswell. 2020. A new Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata Complex) from the Sandhills of North Carolina. Herpetologica 76:423-444.
Taxonomic Comments
See Stuart et al. (2020) for a description of Eurycea arenicola and discussion on the Eurycea bislineata complex.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-02-02
Change Date2001-10-18
Edition Date2002-03-22
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Large range in northeastern United States and southeastern Canada; high abundance; many stable populations.
Range Extent Comments
Southern Quebec and eastern Ontario south to northern Virginia, eastern West Virginia, and central Ohio; isolated populations in southern Labrador (Jacobs 1987, Conant and Collins 1991, Sever 1999).
Occurrences Comments
Many and/or large occurrences throughout the overall range (Sever 1999).
Threat Impact Comments
No major pervasive threats. Often common in and along streams in semi-cleared areas and in second-growth woods surrounded by suburban areas (G. Hammerson, pers. obs), though Petranka (1998) stated that the species is often absent from urban areas or highly disturbed landscapes such as result from intensive timbering, land clearing, stream pollution, and stream siltation.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Rocky brooks, springs, seepages; may disperse into wooded terrestrial habitats in wet warm weather. Bahret (1996) documented a breeding population in an acidic, fish-free lake in New York; occurred to depths of 19.5 m. Adults hide under objects in or near water. In New York, rarely found on soils of low pH (Wyman 1988, Wyman and Jancola 1992). Eggs typically are laid on underside of submerged rocks, logs, or aquatic plants. Bahret (1996) found eggs in a lake at depths of 9.0-13.5 m, on the topmost leaves of water moss, far from shore and from surface drainage inlets.

Ecology

Ohio individuals moved over an area of less than 14 square meters (Ashton and Ashton 1978). Aggregates in winter. In experimental stream communities, Resetarits (1991) found that the brook trout SALVELINUS FONTINALIS and the spring salamander GYRINOPHILUS PORPHYRITICUS affected the growth of the two-lined salamander EURYCEA and the crayfish CAMBARUS BARTONII. SALVELINUS caused CAMBARUS and EURYCEA to alter their activity levels and habitat; EURYCEA and CAMBARUS were able to avoid predation by SALVELINUS and GYRINOPHILUS but at a significant cost to growth.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid April-June; May-June in Massachusetts (Johnson and Goldberg 1975). Female typically remains with eggs until hatching in summer after an incubation period of about 30 days. Larvae metamorphose in 2-3 years in Massachusetts (Wilder 1924). Most sexually mature during second fall after metamorphosis in New York (Stewart 1956).
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
New BrunswickS5Yes
OntarioS4Yes
QuebecS5Yes
LabradorS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ConnecticutS5Yes
MassachusettsS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
OhioSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
New YorkS5Yes
DelawareS5Yes
District of ColumbiaS5Yes
MarylandS5Yes
MaineS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
New HampshireS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
Rhode IslandS5Yes
Roadless Areas (46)
Maine (1)
AreaForestAcres
Caribou - Speckled ExtWhite Mountain National Forest5,988
New Hampshire (14)
AreaForestAcres
Carr MountainWhite Mountain National Forest17,110
Cherry MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,766
Dartmouth RangeWhite Mountain National Forest9,233
Great Gulf Ext.White Mountain National Forest15,110
JobildunkWhite Mountain National Forest3,660
KearsargeWhite Mountain National Forest4,554
KilkennyWhite Mountain National Forest28,766
Kinsman MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,999
Mt. Wolf - Gordon PondWhite Mountain National Forest11,846
PemigewassetWhite Mountain National Forest32,255
Pemigewasset ExtWhite Mountain National Forest15,840
Presidential - Dry River ExtWhite Mountain National Forest10,555
Sandwich RangeWhite Mountain National Forest16,797
Wild RiverWhite Mountain National Forest46,878
Pennsylvania (2)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Vermont (5)
AreaForestAcres
Bread LoafGreen Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,768
Devil's Den 09083Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests9,169
Griffith Lake 09084Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,833
Lye Brook Addition 09085Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,111
Wilder Mountain 09082Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests8,759
Virginia (8)
AreaForestAcres
Gum RunGeorge Washington National Forest12,620
Laurel ForkGeorge Washington National Forest9,967
Little RiverGeorge Washington National Forest27,292
Northern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest9,444
Oak KnobGeorge Washington National Forest10,882
Ramseys Draft AdditionGeorge Washington National Forest12,781
SkidmoreGeorge Washington National Forest5,641
Southern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest11,985
West Virginia (16)
AreaForestAcres
Canaan LoopMonongahela National Forest7,867
Cheat MountainMonongahela National Forest8,191
Cranberry AdditionMonongahela National Forest11,123
Cranberry Glades Botanical AreaMonongahela National Forest785
Dolly Sods Roaring PlainMonongahela National Forest13,392
Dry River (WV)George Washington National Forest7,331
East Fork Of GreenbrierMonongahela National Forest7,167
Falls Of Hills CreekMonongahela National Forest6,925
Glady ForkMonongahela National Forest3,239
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
Marlin MountainMonongahela National Forest9,344
Mcgowan MountainMonongahela National Forest10,504
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
Seneca CreekMonongahela National Forest22,287
Tea Creek MountainMonongahela National Forest8,295
Turkey MountainMonongahela National Forest6,421
References (23)
  1. Ashton, R. E., Jr., and P. S. Ashton. 1978. Movements and winter behavior of <i>Eurycea bislineata</i> (Amphibia, Urodela, Plethodontidae). J. Herpetol. 12:295-298.
  2. Bahret, R. 1996. Ecology of lake dwelling EURYCEA BISLINEATA in the Shawangunk Mountains, New York. Journal of Herpetology 30:399-401.
  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. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 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. DeGraaf, R. M., and D. D. Rudis. 1983a. Amphibians and reptiles of New England. Habitats and natural history. Univ. Massachusetts Press. vii + 83 pp.
  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. Guttman, S. I., and A. A. Karlin. 1986. Hybridization of cryptic species of two-lined salamanders (EURYCEA BISLINEATAcomplex). Copeia 1986:96-108.
  11. Jacobs, J. F. 1987. A preliminary investigation of geographic genetic variation and systematics of the two-lined salamander, <i>Eurycea bislineata</i> (Green). Herpetologica 43:423-446.
  12. Johnson, J. E., and A. S. Goldberg. 1975. Movement of larval two-lined salamanders (EURYCEA BISLINEATA) in the Mill River, Massachusetts. Copeia 1975:588-589.
  13. Kozak, K. H., R. A. Blaine, and A. Larson. 2006. Gene lineages and eastern North American palaeodrainage basins: phylogeography and speciation in salamanders of the <i>Eurycea bislineata</i> species complex. Molecular Ecology 15:191-207.
  14. Mittleman, M.B. 1966. <i>Eurycea bislineata</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 45.1-45.4.
  15. Nicholson, K. E. (ed.). 2025. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Ninth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 87 pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx
  16. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  17. Resetarits, W. J., Jr. 1991. Ecological interactions among predators in experimental stream communities. Ecology 72:1782-1793.
  18. Sever, D.M. 1999a. <i>Eurycea bislineata</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 683:1-5.
  19. Stewart, M. M. 1956. Certain aspects of the natural history and development of the northern two-lined salamander, EURYCEA B. BISLINEATA (Green), in the Ithaca, New York region. Ph.D. diss., Cornell Univ.
  20. Stuart, B. L., D. A. Beamer, D. A. Farrington, J. C. Beane, A. A. Chek, L. T. Pusser, H. E. Som, D. Stephan, D. M. Sever, and A. L. Braswell. 2020. A new Two-lined Salamander (<i>Eurycea bislineata</i> Complex) from the Sandhills of North Carolina. Herpetologica 76:423-444.
  21. Wilder, I. W. 1924. The relation of growth to metamorphosis in EURYCEA BISLINEATA. J. Exp. Zool. 40:1-112.
  22. Wyman, R. L. 1988. Soil acidity and moisture and the distribution of amphibians in five forests of southcentral New York. Copeia 1988:394-399.
  23. Wyman, R. L., and J. Jancola. 1992. Degree and scale of terrestrial acidification and amphibian community structure. J. Herpetol. 26:392-401.