Southern Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon ventralis)
Description: This species is brownish to reddish salamander with red zig-zag marks down the entire length of the body. The body is speckled with bluish-white spots. The belly is usually lighter in color with the same bluish-white spots. The head is slender, and the sides behind the eyes slightly converge to the lateral extensions of the gular fold. The snout is bluntly pointed.
Habitat: This species inhabits the vicinity of moist rocky crevices in ravines, canyons, rubble, seepages, caves, and wooded slopes. It is mostly found under rocks, logs, or leaves during day. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, freshwater springs, rocky areas, and caves. It is a terrestrial breeder with direct development.
Range: This species occurs in the United States of America in southeastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia as far east as Hayters Gap in Washington County, eastern Tennessee, the French Broad River valley of western North Carolina, extreme northwestern Georgia, northern Alabama, and extreme northeastern Mississippi. Its distribution is highly fragmented.
Diet: Unreported, but as with other species of Plethodon, animals likely feed at night, with activity proportional to moisture levels. Prey items include small invertebrates, especially insects, that inhabit or are associated with the forest floor.
Reproduction: Adult females lay their eggs in caves during the summer.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution and presumed large population.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - (Amphibians)
»» Order: Caudata - Salamanders
»» Family: Plethodontidae - Lungless Salamanders
»» Genus: Plethodon
»» Species: Plethodon ventralis - Southern Zigzag Salamander
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Southern Zigzag 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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