THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Holbrook's Southern Dusky Salamander
Desmognathus auriculatus (Holbrook, 1838)
DEZ-moh-NAY-thus — aw-rih-kyoo-LAY-tus

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

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Occurrences:; 4,480 Total; 4,451 Museum; 29 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina Texas Virginia

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its ear-like pattern.
Desmognathus — Greek desmos = “ligament” + gnathos = “jaw”
auriculatus — Latin auricula = “little ear” + -atus = “having” — refers to dark spot behind the eye that resembles an ear patch.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Eared Triton (Desmognathus fusca auriculata: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Coastal Plain Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus auriculatus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Ocala Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus carri: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus auriculatus: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185); Peninsula Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus carri: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1838 Holbrook, John E. North American Herpetology; or, a Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Volume 3. J. Dobson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 122pp.
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
1999 Means, D. Bruce. Desmognathus auriculatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (681):1-6
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: Thursday 16 July 2026 03:29 CT