{{Short description|Species of amphibian}} {{Speciesbox | image = A Weller's Salamander (Plethodon welleri) sitting on a broken log.jpg | image_caption = Weller's salamander (''Plethodon welleri'') | status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Geoffrey Hammerson, David Beamer |date=2004 |title=''Plethodon welleri'' |volume=2004 |article-number=e.T59363A11909428 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59363A11909428.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Plethodon | species = welleri | authority = Walker, 1931 }}
'''Weller's salamander''' ('''''Plethodon welleri''''') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other ''Plethodon'' species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas.
Worth Hamilton Weller, an American herpetologist, discovered the new species during his sophomore/junior high school summer vacation in 1931.<ref name= Adler>{{Cite book |last=Adler |first=Kraig |title=Contributions to the History of Herpetology, Volume 2. |publisher=Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-916984-71-7 |pages=182}}</ref>
This species is currently threatened by population fragmentation, habitat degradation and loss.
==Description== Weller's salamander has 16<ref name=Thurow1956/> coastal or costal grooves<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.texas-wildlife.org/images/uploads/Critter_Connections_Sept_2019.pdf|website =www.texas-wildlife.org|publisher=Youth Magazine of The Texas Wildlife Association|title=Texas Salamanders|last=Dean|first=Elanor|date=September 2019}}</ref> with light dorsal markings.<ref name=Thurow1956>{{cite journal |last1=Thurow |first1=Gordon R. |title=A New Subspecies of ''Plethodon welleri'', with Notes on Other Members of the Genus |journal=American Midland Naturalist |date=April 1956 |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=343–356 |doi=10.2307/2422596 |jstor=2422596 }}</ref> The markings are usually dark gold in color with a metallic sheen.<ref name=Thurow1956/><ref name=Walker1934/> These are smaller salamanders, like most plethodontids, and have a slender body.<ref name=Walker1934>{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Charles F. |title=''Plethodon welleri'' at White Top Mountain, Virginia |journal=Copeia |date=31 December 1934 |volume=1934 |issue=4 |page=190 |doi=10.2307/1435869 |jstor=1435869 }}</ref> They have 17 trunk vertebrae, which makes them the shortest of the eastern small plethodontids, and two to seven vomerin teeth that are located in series. These salamanders also have webbed toes.<ref name="Highton & Larson 1979">{{cite journal |last1=Highton |first1=Richard |last2=Larson |first2=Allan |title=The Genetic Relationships of the Salamanders of the Genus ''Plethodon'' |journal=Systematic Biology |date=1 December 1979 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=579–599 |doi=10.2307/sysbio/28.4.579 }}</ref> Males and females have differing visible genitalia for sex differentiation. Females have a simple slit, while males have a cloacal gland and papillae in the vent.<ref name=Thurow1956/>
==Diet== They are insectivores that feed on insects, including pseudoscorpions, orb-weaver spiders, ticks and mites, springtails, true bugs, butterflies and moths, flies, and beetles.<ref name=":4" />
==Defense== Like other plethodontids, Weller's salamander produces a noxious skin secretion when threatened and sometimes goes immobile to convince a predator that the individual is already dead.<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last1=Lannoo |first1=Michael |title=Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species |date=2005 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23592-2 |edition=1st |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1pp5xd }}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref>
==Habitat== This species of plethodon salamander is a high-altitude species found in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains.<ref name="Larson & Highton 1978">{{cite journal |last1=Larson |first1=Aallan |last2=Highton |first2=Richard |title=Geographic Protein Variation and Divergence in the Salamanders of the ''Plethodon'' Weller Group (Amphibia, Plethodontidae) |journal=Systematic Biology |date=1 December 1978 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=431–448 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/27.4.431 }}</ref> Their range includes northwest North Carolina and portions of Tennessee and Virginia into which the mountains extend. However, these salamanders are restricted to a few counties in the mentioned states.<ref name="Larson & Highton 1978" /> The counties include Johnson and Unicoi Counties in Tennessee and Yancey County in North Carolina. The salamanders inhabit mountain areas, including Mt. Rodgers and the Whitetop Mountains in southwest Virginia, as well as the Unaka Mountain ridges in northeastern Tennessee and eastern North Carolina.<ref name=":4" /> These plethodons are found mainly in the highland areas around this mountain ridge.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Highton |first1=Richard |last2=Hastings |first2=Amy Picard |last3=Palmer |first3=Catherine |last4=Watts |first4=Richard |last5=Hass |first5=Carla A. |last6=Culver |first6=Melanie |last7=Arnold |first7=Stevan J. |title=Concurrent speciation in the eastern woodland salamanders (Genus ''Plethodon''): DNA sequences of the complete albumin nuclear and partial mitochondrial 12s genes |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=1 May 2012 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=278–290 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.018 |pmid=22230029 |bibcode=2012MolPE..63..278H }}</ref>
They inhabit spruce<ref name=Walker1934/> and birch forests that are heavily shaded.<ref name=Snyder1946/> Some individuals were found in upper-level hardwood forests.<ref name=Walker1934/><ref name=Snyder1946/> The salamanders prefer habitats with cooler temperatures.<ref name=Snyder1946>{{cite journal |last1=Snyder |first1=Richard C. |title=''Plethodon welleri'' from Flat Top Mountain, North Carolina |journal=Copeia |date=1946 |volume=1946 |issue=3 |page=174 |doi=10.2307/1438749 |jstor=1438749 }}</ref> These salamanders are generally found under logs, stones, and flat rocks in their preferred habitats.<ref name=":4" />
==Reproduction== Weller's salamanders breed during the spring and fall. Courtship behaviors have been observed in captivity in October and April. The females are reproductively mature at 35 mm in length and tend to be older than 3 years when they become mature. The males can breed around 30 mm long at about 2–3 years old. The females lay eggs in clutches of four to 11 eggs in tight clusters suspended by a stalk. These nests are found under the moss mats that cover conifer logs. The eggs are seen between mid-August to September and are between 2.6 and 6.5 mm in diameter. The offspring show direct development with little to no evidence of gills being visible once the egg has hatched. Some evidence indicates the females brood or guard the eggs. The females found at these nests were undernourished, which indicates they do not feed during their time guarding the eggs.<ref name=":4" /> The eggs laid by the females are dark in color due to pigmentation by melanophores.<ref name="Highton & Larson 1979" />
==Conservation== Larger populations of these salamanders appear to be stable. The populations are found on Grandfather Mountain and Rodgers Mountain. North Carolina and Virginia populations are believed to be declining.<ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021" /> The current populations are isolated from each other, causing fragmentation to become a threat to these populations.<ref name=":6">{{cite book |last1=Pague |first1=C.A. |year=1991 |chapter=Amphibians and reptiles |editor1-last=Terwilliger |editor1-first=K. |title=Virginia's Endangered Species: Proceedings of a Symposium |pages=411–476 |publisher=McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company |location=Blacksburg, Virginia }}</ref> The high altitude of the habitat helps protect the populations to some degree.<ref>Petranka, J.W. 1998. ''Salamanders of the United States and Canada''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref> Much of the salamander's range on Mount Rodgers is a national recreation area, and most of the land within the park is protected.<ref name=":6" /> The area around Grandfather Mountain is privately owned, but seems to be under stable protection.<ref name=":7">Braswell, A.L. 1989. Scientific council report on the conservation status of North Carolina amphibians and reptiles. Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina.</ref> The populations of these salamanders are very isolated and the small number of individuals in each population makes those populations susceptible to extinction due to catastrophic events such as fires or more habitat degradation.<ref name=":7" />
The major threat to this species is habitat degradation and loss, mainly due to development and logging practices.<ref name=":7" />
==See also== *List of endangered animal species
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Commons category|Plethodon welleri}} *Adler, K. (2007). ''Contributions to the History of Herpetology'', Volume 2. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 400 p. {{ISBN|978-0916984717}} *{{cite journal |last1=Organ |first1=James A. |title=Studies on the Life History of the Salamander, ''Plethodon welleri'' |journal=Copeia |date=1960 |volume=1960 |issue=4 |pages=287–297 |doi=10.2307/1439754 |jstor=1439754 }}
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Category:Amphibians of the United States Category:Plethodon Category:Amphibians described in 1931 Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot