Plethodon welleri

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Endangered

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Mountain dwelling salamanders, being found from 2500 ft . and above, though most commonly in spruce forests above 5000 ft. on the high peaks of the region.

Ecology: It inhabits spruce-fir, birch-hemlock, and primarily deciduous forests , and is also found in grassy spots and boulder fields . It is usually found under rocks or logs , or in leaf-litter, during the day, and tends to be associated with rocky substrates. Breeding and non-breeding habitats are the same. The eggs are laid in small cavities in rotting conifer logs or beneath moss mats. It is apparently not tolerant of habitat disturbance.[1].

List of Habitats:

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.4     Forest - Temperate   
  
•     6     Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs , mountain peaks)   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

This salamander feeds on spiders, mites and insects.

Reproduction

Courtship and mating occur in the spring and fall . Females lay clutches from 4 to 11. Eggs are laid in early midsummer and hatch in late August or early fall.

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 01-Sep-2009

Similar Species

Members of the genus Plethodon

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 62 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. ainsworthi (Bay Springs Salamander) · P. albagula (White-Throated Slimy Salamander) · P. amplus (Blue Ridge Gray-Cheeked Salamander) · P. angusticlavius (Ozark Red-Backed Salamander) · P. asupak (Scottbar Salamander) · P. aureolus (Tellico Salamander) · P. caddoensis (Caddo Mountain Salamander) · P. chatahoochee (Chattahoochee Slimy Salamander) · P. chattahoochee (Chattahoochee Salamander) · P. cheoah (Cheoah Bald Salamander) · P. chlorobryonis (Carolina Slimy Salamander) · P. cinereus (Northern Red-Backed Salamander) · P. cylindraceus (White-Spotted Slimy Salamander) · P. dorsalis (Northern Zigzag Salamander) · P. dorsalis angusticlavius (Ozark Zigzag Salamander) · P. dorsalis dorsalis (Eastern Zigzag Salamander) · P. dunni (Western Tan-Backed Salamander) · P. electromorphus (Northern Ravine Salamander) · P. elongatus (Del Norte Salamander) · P. fourchensis (Fourche Mountain Salamander) · P. glutinosus (Northern Slimy Salamander) · P. glutinosus glutinosus (Northern Slimy Salamander) · P. grobmani (Florida Slimy Salamander) · P. hoffmani (Valley and Ridge Salamander) · P. hubrichti (Peaks of Otter Salamander) · P. idahoensis (Coeur D'alene Salamander) · P. jordani (Appalachian Woodland Salamander) · P. jordani jordani (Appalachian Woodland Salamander) · P. kentucki (Cumberland Plateau Woodland Salamander) · P. kiamichi (Kianichi Slimy Salamander) · P. kisatchie (Louisiana Slimy Salamander) · P. larselli (Larch Mountain Salamander) · P. meridianus (South Mountain Gray-Cheeked Salamander) · P. metcalfi (Southern Gray-Cheeked Salamander) · P. mississippi (Mississippi Slimy Salamander) · P. montanus (Northern Gray-Cheeked Salamander) · P. neomexicanus (Jemez Mountains Salamander) · P. nettingi (Cheat Mountain Salamander) · P. ocmulgee (Central Georgia Slimy Salamander) · P. oconaluftee (Balsam Mountains Salamander) · P. ouachitae (Ouachita Salamander) · P. petraeus (Pigeon Mountain Salamander) · P. punctatus (White-Spotted Salamander) · P. richmondi (Southern Ravine Salamander) · P. savannah (Eastern Georgia Slimy Salamander) · P. sequoyah (Southeastern Oklahoma Slimy Salamander) · P. serratus (Southern Red-Backed Salamander) · P. shenandoah (Shenandoah Salamander) · P. sherando (Big Levels Salamander) · P. shermani (Sherman Salamander) · P. stormi (Siskiyou Mountains Salamander) · P. teyahalee (Southern Appalachian Slimy Salamander) · P. vandykei (Washington Salamander) · P. vandykei vandykei (Washington Salamander) · P. variolatus (South Carolina Slimy Salamander) · P. vehiculum (Western Red-Backed Salamander) · P. ventralis (Southern Zigzag Salamander) · P. virginia (Shenandoah Mountain Salamander) · P. websteri (Southern Zig-Zag Salamander) · P. wehrlei (Dixie Caverns Salamander) · P. welleri (Spot-Bellied Salamander) · P. yonahlossee (Yonahlossee Salamander)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A check list of North American amphibians and reptiles / by Leonhard Stejneger and Thomas Barbour. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933. url p. 13.
• A geographic classification of Neotropical mammals. 36 1958 [Chicago]Chicago Natural History Museum, 1958. url p. 645.
• Annual report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the year. .. / Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, U.S.A.: Field Museum of Natural History, 1907-1943. url p. 136.
• Biochemical evolution in the slimy salamanders of the Plethodon glutinosus Complex in the Eastern United States / Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989. url p. 96.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url p. 22, p. 290.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 96 1946 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 174, p. 20.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url p. 103.
• Catalogue of type specimens of reptiles and amphibians in Chicago Natural History Museum. 36 1958 [Chicago]Chicago Natural History Museum, 1958. url p. 421.
• Herpetological type-specimens in the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1964. url p. 14.
• Name that animal; a guide to the identification of the common land and fresh-water animals of the United States, with special reference to the area east of the Rockies. With drawings by Olive Driver. Northampton? Mass., 1950 url p. 324.
• Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. Washington, Biological Society of Washington url p. 137.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. 44 1963 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 103, p. 105, p. 87, p. 91, p. 92, p. 93, p. 94, p. 98, p. 99.
• The distribution of Leurognathus, a southern Appalachian genus of salamanders [by] Clifford H. Pope and Nelson G. Hairston. 31 1947 [Chicago]Chicago Natural History Museum, 1947. url p. 160.
• The relationships of the salamanders of the genus Plethodon... 1956. url , , , , , , , .

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• Geoffrey Hammerson, David Beamer 2004. Plethodon welleri. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 05, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• Hammerson, G. & Beamer, D. 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:

• Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 25945
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-173675
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 173675
• IUCN ID: 233973
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AAAAD12230
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 7195

Footnotes

1. Geoffrey Hammerson, David Beamer 2004. Plethodon welleri. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.