Plethodon

<i>Plethodon</i>

Plethodon

Genus of amphibians

Plethodon is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are commonly known as woodland salamanders.[2] All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and the United States).[2] They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus).[3] Young hatch in the adult form.[3] Members of Plethodon primarily eat small invertebrates.[4] The earliest known fossils of this genus are from the Hemphillian of Tennessee in the United States.[1]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Synonyms ...

Taxonomy

Plethodon is part of the family Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders) and the subfamily Plethodontinae. The genus Plethodon can be divided into two subgenera: the nominal subgenus Plethodon, which includes up to 49 eastern species (the bulk of diversity in the genus), and the subgenus Hightonia,[5] which includes 9 species native to the western part of North America.

The eastern Plethodon subgenus can be further categorized into at least three major species groups which genetic analyses confirm to be clades:[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

List of species

As of 2024 there are up to 58 species in the genus Plethodon.[2] Most are native to eastern and central North America, with the Appalachian Mountains having the highest diversity. Seven species live along the West Coast, one (P. idahoensis) in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, and one (P. neomexicanus) in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico.

All 58 Plethodon species listed in alphabetical order of specific name:

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Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Plethodon.

References

  1. [1]
    "Plethodon Tschudi 1838". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. [2]
    Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Plethodon Tschudi, 1838". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  3. [3]
    IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Plethodon cinereus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T59334A193391260. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T59334A193391260.en. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Plethodon cinereus (Eastern Red-backed Salamander)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  5. [5]
    Vieites, David R.; Román, Sandra Nieto; Wake, Marvalee H.; Wake, David B. (2011). "A multigenic perspective on phylogenetic relationships in the largest family of salamanders, the Plethodontidae" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 59 (3): 623–635. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.012. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 21414414.
  6. [6]
    Highton, R (1995). "SPECIATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN SALAMANDERS OF THE GENUS PLETHODON". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 26 (1): 579–600. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.26.110195.003051. ISSN 0066-4162.
  7. [7]
    Kozak, Kenneth H; Weisrock, David W; Larson, Allan (2006-03-07). "Rapid lineage accumulation in a non-adaptive radiation: phylogenetic analysis of diversification rates in eastern North American woodland salamanders (Plethodontidae: Plethodon )". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 273 (1586): 539–546. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3326. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 1560065. PMID 16537124.
  8. [8]
    Wiens, John J.; Engstrom, Tag N.; Chippindale, Paul T. (2006). "Rapid diversification, incomplete isolation, and the "speciation clock" in North American salamanders (Genus Plethodon): Testing the hybrid swarm hypothesis of rapid radiation" (PDF). Evolution. 60 (12): 2585–3103. doi:10.1554/06-138.1 (inactive 2024-03-07). ISSN 0014-3820. PMID 17263119.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2024 (link)
  9. [9]
    Kozak, Kenneth H.; Mendyk, Robert W.; Wiens, John J. (2009). "Can Parallel Diversification Occur in Sympatry? Repeated Patterns of Body-Size Evolution in Coexisting Clades of North American Salamanders" (PDF). Evolution. 63 (7): 1769–1784. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00680.x. PMID 19473404. S2CID 3914496.
  10. [10]
    Alexander Pyron, R.; Wiens, John J. (2011). "A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (2): 543–583. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 21723399.
  11. [11]
    Fisher-Reid, M. Caitlin; Wiens, John J. (2011-10-13). "What are the consequences of combining nuclear and mitochondrial data for phylogenetic analysis? Lessons from Plethodon salamanders and 13 other vertebrate clades" (PDF). BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (1): 300. Bibcode:2011BMCEE..11..300F. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-300. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 3203092. PMID 21995558.
  12. [12]
    Highton, Richard; Hastings, Amy Picard; Palmer, Catherine; Watts, Richard; Hass, Carla A.; Culver, Melanie; Arnold, Stevan J. (2012). "Concurrent speciation in the eastern woodland salamanders (Genus Plethodon): DNA sequences of the complete albumin nuclear and partial mitochondrial 12s genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 278–290. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.018. PMID 22230029.
  13. [13]
    Camp, Carlos D.; Pierson, Todd W.; Wooten, Jessica A.; Felix, Zachary I. (2019-05-24). "Re-evaluation of the Wehrle's salamander (Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn) species group (Caudata: Plethodontidae) using genomic data, with the description of a new species". Zootaxa. 4609 (3): 429–448. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4609.3.2. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31717092. S2CID 181533495.
  14. [14]
    Joyce, Kathlene L.; Hayes, Malorie M.; Potter, Jacqueline; Guyer, Craig (2019-11-22). "Phylogeography of the Slimy Salamander Complex (Plethodon: Plethodontidae) in Alabama". Copeia. 107 (4): 701. doi:10.1643/CH-18-170. ISSN 0045-8511. S2CID 208942753.
  15. [15]
    Guyer, Craig; Goetz, Scott; Folt, Brian; Joyce, Kathlene; Hayes, Malorie (2019-11-22). "Variation in Head Shape and Color at the Range Boundary of Gulf Coastal Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus Complex), USA". Copeia. 107 (4): 694. doi:10.1643/CH-18-169. ISSN 0045-8511. S2CID 208942734.
  16. [16]
    Himes, John G.; Beckett, David C. (2013). "The Status of Plethodon ainsworthi Lazell: Extinct, Extant, or Nonexistent?". Southeastern Naturalist. 12 (4): 851–856. doi:10.1656/058.012.0419. ISSN 1528-7092. S2CID 55019821.
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