Desmognathus lycos
Pyron and Beamer, 2023
DEZ-moh-NAY-thus — LYE-kohs
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
New Species. Delimited from D. fuscus by Pyron and Beamer (2023, Zootaxa 5311: 451–504).
(Pyron, R. Alexander, Christopher K. Beachy, David A. Beamer, and Kenneth M. Kozak. 2025. Caudata – Salamanders. Pages 10-21 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.08.31.17.02.20)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.15 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its resemblance to a wolf spider or its ferocity.
Desmognathus — Greek desmos = “ligament” + gnathos = “jaw”
lycos — Greek lykos (λύκος) = “wolf”; May reference either a wolf-like pattern, behavior, or allusion to wolf spiders (Lycosidae), which it may resemble in habitat.
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1993
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Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
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1996
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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
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2010
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Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letters 13:1378-1389
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2023
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Pyron, R. Alexander and David A. Beamer. Systematic revision of the Spotted and Northern Dusky Salamanders (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus conanti and D. fuscus), with six new species from the eastern United States. Zootaxa 5311(4):451–504
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