Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Valley and Ridge Salamander

Plethodon hoffmani

Highton, 1972 "1971"

Valley and Ridge Salamander

G5Secure Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100062
Element CodeAAAAD12080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusPlethodon
Other Common Names
Valley And Ridge Salamander (EN)
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
Included in P. richmondi prior to 1972. Plethodon virginia formerly was included in P. hoffmani, from which it differs in protein characteristics detectable by electrophoresis (Highton 2009).
Conservation Status
Review Date2002-03-26
Change Date2001-10-31
Edition Date2002-03-26
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
Susquehanna River Valley, Pennsylvania, to New River, northwestern Virginia, including eastern West Virginia and western Maryland (Highton 1999).
Occurrences Comments
Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Valley and ridge physiography, generally in mature hardwood forests with well-drained soils. Lays eggs in moist cavity.

Reproduction

Courtship and mating probably occur in spring. Clutch of 3-8 eggs is laid in spring. Larval stage passed in egg; clutch attended by female. Hatching occurs in August-September. Sexually mature in 2-3 years.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodWoodland - Hardwood
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaS4Yes
MarylandS4Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial development——High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas——High (continuing)
5 - Biological resource use——High (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (6)
Virginia (5)
AreaForestAcres
Beards MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,505
JerkemtightGeorge Washington National Forest16,687
Mill MountainGeorge Washington National Forest10,840
Oliver MountainGeorge Washington National Forest13,090
Three SistersGeorge Washington National Forest8,149
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
References (14)
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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]
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. Green, N. B., and T. K. Pauley. 1987. Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. xi + 241 pp.
  7. Highton, R. 1986. <i>Plethodon hoffmani</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 392:1-2.
  8. Highton, R. 1999a. Geographic protein variation and speciation in the salamanders of the <i>Plethodon cinereus</i> group with the description of two new species. Herpetologica 55:43-90.
  9. Hulse, A. C., C. J. McCoy, and E. Censky. 2001. Amphibians and reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca. 419 pp.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  14. Tobey, F. J. 1985. Virginia's amphibians and reptiles: a distributional survey. Virginia Herpetological Survey. vi + 114 pp.