Species
Pigeon Mountain salamander
Plethodon petraeus
A large, bronze-striped salamander found only on one mountain in northwest Georgia.
Photo Matt D'Agrosa (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 12 to 18 cm long
- Habitat
- Limestone outcrops, rock crevices and cave entrances in forest
- Diet
- Small invertebrates
- In Georgia
- Pigeon Mountain in Walker County; found nowhere else
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Grey-black with a broad, bronze or reddish-brown stripe down the back; long legs and toes
- Told apart from
- Northern slimy salamander, which has no stripe
- Where to look
- On rock faces near cave mouths on wet nights
Behaviour
It climbs rock faces and lives in crevices, using its long legs and toes to grip. It is most active on humid nights.
Why they matter
Its entire world is a single mountain in Georgia, which makes the protection of those limestone slopes the whole of its conservation.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Laid deep in rock crevices
Hatching — As tiny copies of the adults
Young — No aquatic stage
Maturity — At a few years
Lifespan — Many years
Breathing — Through the skin; no lungs
Living around people
- Leave rock faces and cave entrances on Pigeon Mountain undisturbed.
Misconceptions
- Salamanders cannot climb. This one lives on rock faces.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In crevices | In crevices | Active on wet nights | Active | Active | Laying eggs in crevices | Active on humid nights | Active on humid nights | Young hatching | Active on wet nights | Active on wet nights | In crevices |
Where it lives
Recorded in one state or province. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
If you found one
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