Spring salamander

The spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae It is found in Canada and the United States. The generic name, Gyrinophilus, means "tadpole lover" and refers to the long period of time it spends as a gilled larva before maturing. The specific name, porphyriticus, is Latin from Greek, meaning the color of porphyry, a purple stone,[2] and this salamander has also been called the purple salamander.[3]

For the genus called spring salamanders, see Gyrinophilus.

Spring salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Gyrinophilus
Species:
G. porphyriticus
Binomial name
Gyrinophilus porphyriticus
(Green, 1827)
Range of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus subspecies:

Brown: G. p. porphyriticus
Black: G. p. duryi
Magenta: G. p. danielsi
Purple: G. p. dunni

Synonyms
  • Salamandra porphyritica
    Green, 1827

Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. In addition to insects, worms, and other small invertebrates, the fairly large spring salamander may also consume smaller stream dwelling salamanders such as two-lined and dusky salamanders. In fact, they are considered salamander specialist in some areas such as the North Carolina Mountains, where 50% of their diets consist of other salamanders including their own kind[4]

Although deforestation is a potential threat, the spring salamander occurs in many protected areas and is not listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List.[1]

Description

Like all members of the family Plethodontidae these salamanders have a nasolabial groove. The subspecies G. p. porphyriticus and G. p. duryi can be 4.75–7.5 in (12.1–19.1 cm) long. The record length is 9.125 in (23.18 cm). The light line from eye to nostril is bordered below by gray pigment, but the markings are not always conspicuous. The dorsal coloration varies from salmon or light brownish to pink or reddish. The ground color has a cloudy appearance, and the darker markings are vague. The subspecies G. p. danielsi and G. p. dunni can be 5–7.5 in (13–19 cm). The record length is 8.06 in (20.5 cm). Adults reach larger sizes at higher elevations as a consequence of delay in development to maturity after metamorphosis in high-level populations.[5] The white line from eye to nostril, bordered below by a conspicuous black or dark brown line, is distinctive. There also may be a dark line above the white line, often conspicuous. The dorsal coloration can be clear reddish, salmon, or orange-yellow marked with black or brown spots or flecks. 17 to 19 costal grooves. Larvae are aquatic and have stream-type morphology. Juveniles are typically more brightly colored than adults.[6]

Habitat

This species is found in cool springs and mountain springs, but is also likely to be found in any wet depression beneath logs, stones, or leaves in the surrounding forest. They require being in areas that provide them with adequate oxygen and moisture because they conduct cutaneous respiration. During the colder months of the year, the salamanders will spend their time in wet soil close to a source of water where they remain somewhat active in burrows, or in the leaf litter near a stream or other body of water.[7]

Geographic range

Its distribution ranges from southern Quebec to northern Alabama and extremely northeast Mississippi. There is also an isolated colony in Hamilton County, Ohio. G. p. duryi is present in southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, and western Virginia. The distribution range of G. p. danielsi is the southern Appalachian Mountains and the adjacent Piedmont from North Carolina to Alabama. G. p. dunni is distributed through the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Province and the Piedmont from southwest North Carolina to eastern to central Alabama. The nominate subspecies, G. p. porphyriticus, occupies the remainder of the geographical range of this species.

Predation

Fish are the main predators of the spring salamander, including the Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Survival of the spring salamander is reduced by over 50% in the presence of fingerling brook trout with an even greater reduction in the presence of adult fish. The growth of spring salamanders is reduced by as much as 90% in areas where spring salamanders and brook trout coexist.[8]

Conservation Status

The IUCN Red List categorizes the Spring salamander as least concern, and the United States Federal list has no specific status noted for G. porphyriticus. However in the state of Connecticut G. porphyriticus is listed as threatened. These populations are threatened in Connecticut primarily due to deforestation, agriculture, and introduction of fish for sport such as trout.[9]

Subspecies
  • Northern spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus)
  • Kentucky spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus duryi)
  • Blue Ridge spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus danielsi)
  • Carolina spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus dunni)

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2015). "Gyrinophilus porphyriticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T59282A78906281. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T59282A78906281.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. Mish, F.C., Editor in Chief (2004). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster.
  3. Conant, Roger (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  4. Lidley, Brian A (1999). "Natural History of the Northern Spring Salamander Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus at the Westvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest in Randolph County, West Virginia". Theses, Dissertations and Capstones: Paper 389 – via Marshall Digital Scholar.
  5. Bruce, Richard C. (1972). "Variation in the Life Cycle of the Salamander Gyrinophilus porphyriticus". Herpetologica. 28 (3): 230–245. ISSN 0018-0831.
  6. National Park Service. (n.d.). Spring salamander. National Parks Service. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.nps.gov/chat/learn/nature/spring-salamander.htm#:~:text=Tail%20keeled.%2017%20to%2019%20costal%20grooves.%20Larvae,the%20nostril%2C%20and%20typically%20the%20patterning%20is%20darker.
  7. Jahnke, Stephanie. "Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Spring Salamander)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  8. Resetarits, William J. (June 1995). "Competitive Asymmetry and Coexistence in Size-Structured Populations of Brook Trout and Spring Salamanders". Oikos. 73 (2): 188. doi:10.2307/3545907.
  9. Jahnke, Stephanie. "Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Spring Salamander)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2022-04-06.

Further reading
  • Green, Jacob (1827). "An account of some new species of salamanders". Contributions of the Maclurian Lyceum to the Arts & Sciences 1: 3–8.
  • Conant, Roger, and Joseph T. Collins (1998). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Third Edition, Expanded. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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