Species
Southern Appalachian salamander
Plethodon teyahalee
A large, white-spotted woodland salamander of the high mountains of north-east Georgia.
Photo Matt Muir (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 12 to 18 cm long
- Habitat
- High-elevation mountain forests
- Diet
- Small invertebrates
- In Georgia
- The mountains of north-east Georgia; uncommon
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Black with small white spots; some have faint red on the legs
- Told apart from
- Red-legged salamander, which has bright red legs and no white spots
- Where to look
- Under logs and rocks in mountain forests
Behaviour
It lives under logs and rocks and hunts on the forest floor on wet nights. Where it meets its relatives it sometimes interbreeds with them.
Why they matter
It is one of the lungless salamanders that make the southern Appalachians the world's centre of salamander diversity.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Laid underground and guarded by the female
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
- On mountain trails, leave rocks and logs where they are.
Misconceptions
- Salamanders are rare. In some eastern forests the salamanders together outweigh all the birds.
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 | Underground | Underground | Active on wet nights | Active | Active | Laying eggs | Active on wet nights | Active on wet nights | Young hatching | Active on wet nights | Underground in cold weather | Underground |
Where it lives
Recorded in 4 states and provinces. 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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