Cow Knob salamander

Cow Knob salamander

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Subfamily: Plethodontinae
Genus: Plethodon
Species:
P. punctatus
Binomial name
Plethodon punctatus
Highton, 1971 [1972]

Plethodon punctatus, commonly known as the Cow Knob salamander[3][4][5][6] or white-spotted salamander[7][8][9] (not to be confused with P. cylindraceus, the white-spotted slimy salamander), is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to high mountain forests on the border of Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. Nearly all occurrences are on Shenandoah Mountain, Nathaniel Mountain and Great North Mountain in George Washington National Forest. Cow Knob salamanders are a member of the P. wehrlei species complex, which includes many other Appalachian salamanders historically referred to Plethodon wehrlei (Wehrle's salamander).

Major threats to Plethodon punctatus include habitat loss and climate change,[10][11] and it is rated as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Although not protected by the Endangered Species Act, Cow Knob salamanders benefit from a 1994 conservation agreement between the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The species' threatened condition has helped to secure ecosystem conservation goals on Shenandoah Mountain and nearby ridges, such as redirecting the planned route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Despite their restricted range, Cow Knob salamanders are abundant in localities with ideal environmental conditions, such as rocky old-growth hemlock forests.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference iucn status was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference natureserve was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Mitchell, Joseph C. (1991). "Amphibians and Reptiles". In Karen, Terwilliger (ed.). Virginia's Endangered Species: Proceedings of a Symposium. Blacksburg: McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company. pp. 437–439.
  5. ^ Tucker, Robert B. (1998). "Ecology and natural history of the Cow Knob salamander, Plethodon punctatus Highton, in West Virginia". Marshall University Graduate Thesis.
  6. ^ Powell, Robert; Conant, Roger; Collins, Joseph T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 88.
  7. ^ Green, N. Bayard; Pauley, Thomas K. (1987). Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 75–76.
  8. ^ Highton, Richard (1988). "Plethodon punctatus". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. p. 414.
  9. ^ Petranka, James W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Washington, London: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 390–392. ISBN 9781560988281.
  10. ^ Milanovich, Joseph R.; Peterman, William E.; Nibbelink, Nathan P.; Maerz, John C. (2010-08-16). "Projected Loss of a Salamander Diversity Hotspot as a Consequence of Projected Global Climate Change". PLOS ONE. 5 (8): e12189. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...512189M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012189. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 2922335. PMID 20808442.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).