dusky salamander
Desmognathus fuscus
Summary 7
Desmognathus fuscus is an amphibian in the lungless salamander family. The species is commonly called the dusky salamander or northern dusky salamander to distinguish it from populations in the southern United States which form a separate species, the southern dusky salamander (D. auriculatus). It can be found in eastern North America from extreme eastern Canada in New Brunswick south into the panhandle of Florida and west to Louisiana. The size of the species' total population is...
Distribution 8
Global Range: (200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)) Range extends from southern New Brunswick, southeastern Quebec, and southern Ontario (Kamstra 1991) south to southeastern Indiana, western Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia (Conant and Collins 1991, Titus and Larson 1996, Bonett 2002, Beamer and Lamb 2008). Populations south of this range, particularly on the Coastal Plain, are now regarded as a distinct species (D. conanti) (Titus and Larson 1996, Crother et al. 2000, Bonett 2002) and may include additional unnamed species (Beamer and Lamb 2008).
Conservation status 9
Dusky salamanders can be common where habitat is intact and abundant in areas such as shaded streamsides in moist woods. But they are threatened in some areas by tree removal, which exposes the area to sun, increasing the water temperature and decreasing the humidity. Pollution of waterways can also be a serious threat. The overall effects of bait collection are unknown, but this activity may certainly impact local populations, especially if collection techniques (such as rock turning) disrupt the local habitat.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Sources and Credits
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/18024068@N00/2671881162
- (c) 2009 James H. Harding, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=271307&one=T
- (c) 2012 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=403371&one=T
- (c) 2012 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=403372&one=T
- (c) 2012 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=403373&one=T
- (c) 2007 James H. Harding, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=227232&one=T
- Adapted by Marie Studer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmognathus_fuscus
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/18607445
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25064584
