Chattooga Dusky Salamander
Desmognathus perlapsus
Neill, 1950
DEZ-moh-NAY-thus — per-LAP-sus
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Elevated from the synonymy of Desmognathus ocoee by Pyron and Beamer (2022, Zootaxa, 5190: 207–240).
(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: 2023.08.31.15.44.44)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.03 MB
Province/State Distribution:
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its cryptic status.
Desmognathus — Greek desmos = “ligament” + gnathos = “jaw”
perlapsus — Latin perlapsus = “slipped away” or “escaped notice”; Alludes to the species having gone undetected or misidentified for a long time.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Tallulah Salamander (Desmognathus perlapsus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1950
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Neill, W. T. A new species of salamander, genus Desmognathus, from Georgia. Publications of the Research Division, Ross Allen's Reptile Institute. Silver Springs 1:1–6
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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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2022
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Pyron, R. Alexander and David A. Beamer. Systematics of the Ocoee Salamander (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus ocoee), with description of two new species from the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Zootaxa (5190):207–240
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