THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Seepage Salamander
Desmognathus aeneus Brown and Bishop, 1947
DEZ-moh-NAY-thus — EE-nee-us

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 1,859 Total; 1,696 Museum; 163 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Georgia North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its metallic coloration.
Desmognathus — Greek desmos = “ligament” + gnathos = “jaw”
aeneus — Latin aeneus = “bronze-colored” — refers to its coppery sheen.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Bronzy Salamander (Plethodon aeneus: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources,. William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Cherokee Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Alabama Salamander (Desmognathus chermocki: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Seepage Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus: Collins, Joseph T., James E. Huheey, James L. Knight, and Hobart M. Smith. 1978. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Herpetological Circulars (7):36);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1947 Brown, Walter C. and Sherman C. Bishop. A new species of Desmognathus from North Carolina. Copeia 1947(3):163-166
1950 Bishop, Sherman C. and B. D. Valentine. A new species of Desmognathus from Alabama. Copeia 1950:39-43
1992 Harrison, Julian R. Desmognathus aeneus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (534):1-4
1993 Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
1996 Titus, Tom A. and Allan Larson. Molecular phylogenetics of Desmognathine salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae): A reevaluation of evolution in ecology, life history, and morphology. Systematic Biology 45(4):451-472
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letter 13:1378-1389

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 20 July 2026 11:15 CT