THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander
Desmognathus orestes Tilley and Mahoney, 1996

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 This taxon consists of two genetically differentiated units that may represent cryptic species (Tilley and Mahoney, 1996, Herpetological Monographs 10: 1–42; Tilley, 1997, Journal of Heredity 88: 305–315; Highton, 2000, pages 215–241 in R. C. Bruce, B. G. Jaeger, and L. D. Houck [Editors], The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.20.40.10)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.11 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: North Carolina Tennessee Virginia

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1993 Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
1996 Tilley, S. G., and M. J. Mahoney. Patterns of genetic differentiation in salamanders of the Desmognathus ochrophaeus complex (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Herpetological Monographs 10:1–42
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
1997 Tilley, S. G. Patterns of genetic differentiation in Appalachian desmognathine salamanders. Journal of Heredity 88:305–315
2000 Highton, Richard. Detecting cryptic species using allozyme data. Pages 215–260 in The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, New York. pp.
2006 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Does niche conservatism promote speciation? A case study in North American salamanders. Evolution 60(12):2604-2621
2008 Tilley, Stephen G., Renee L. Eriksen, and Laura A. Katz. Systematics of dusky salamanders, Desmognathus (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in the mountain and Piedmont regions of Virginia and North Carolina, USA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 152:115-130
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letters 13:1378-1389

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 21 April 2025 13:19 CT