Resolving the Identity of Texas Desmognathus Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Dusky salamanders in Texas have long been identified as Desmognathus auriculatus (Southern Dusky Salamander). However, recent taxonomic work has challenged this notion, restricting D. auriculatus to areas east of the Apalachicola River in Florida and Georgia, while all Texas populations are now considered D. conanti. Regrettably, Texas specimens were not included in the studies upon which these proposed taxonomic changes were based. Dusky salamanders have become increasingly difficult to find in Texas and have only been observed in the state 3 times since 1980. We surveyed 18 sites of which 6 were historical localities. We found 4 extant populations of dusky salamanders at new locations in Texas, one of which was a county record. We were unable to find dusky salamanders at some historically robust populations. We also used mtDNA sequence data to verify that Texas dusky salamanders are indeed D. conanti.

published proceedings

  • Southeastern Naturalist

altmetric score

  • 0.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Hibbitts, T. J., Wahlberg, S. A., & Voelker, G.

citation count

  • 1

complete list of authors

  • Hibbitts, Toby J||Wahlberg, Scott A||Voelker, Gary

publication date

  • January 2015