Apalachicola Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus apalachicolae)
Description: A small (to 4 in. = 10 cm), stocky, generally brownish to gray, semi aquatic salamander with highly variable pattern. Usually 5 - 7 pairs of light, rounded, dark-edged and often coalescing blotches on the back, although old males are uniformly brown; belly light but with traces of dark pigment. Hind legs larger than front; light diagonal line below each eye. Tail comprising more than half of total length and round in cross-section, though flattens from side to side posteriorly to a filament-like tip. Larvae with tiny silvery gills and bright dorsal blotches.
Habitat: Its natural habitats are temperate forests, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs.
Range: The species is endemic to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, in the Southeastern United States.
Found in these States:
AL |
FL |
GA
Reproduction: Reproduction is semi-aquatic. Adults lay eggs on land near water and brood them. Eggs hatch and larvae are aquatic.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its relatively wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification and presumed large population.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - (Amphibians)
»» Order: Caudata - Salamanders
»» Family: Plethodontidae - Lungless Salamanders
»» Subfamily: Plethodontinae
»» Genus: Desmognathus
»» Species: Desmognathus apalachicolae - Apalachicola Dusky Salamander
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Apalachicola Dusky Salamander", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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