Tellico Salamander
Encyclopedia
The Tellico salamander (Plethodon aureolus) is a small woodland salamander
resembling P. glutinosus
and found in mountainous and lowland regions of southeastern Tennessee
and extreme southwestern North Carolina
. Little has been published on the species.
with brassy spotting. The chin is light coloured and the sides have more concentrated yellow or white spotting. Rounded cross section. The maximum size for adults is 151 mm from tip of the snout to tip of the tail.
by the male which is picked up by the female's cloacal
lips. Chemical cues are important in species recognition and prevention of interbreeding with P. oconaluftee. Males seem to prefer the odor of female conspecifics, while females tend to prefer the odor of male heterospecifics.
Woodland salamander
Woodland salamanders are lungless salamanders of the genus Plethodon. They are so named due to their habitat, woodlands, and the fact that they have no aquatic larval stage. Eggs are laid underneath a stone or log and young hatch in the adult form....
resembling P. glutinosus
Plethodon glutinosus
The Northern Slimy Salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found through much of the eastern two thirds of the United States, from New York, west to Illinois, south to Texas, and east to Florida, with an isolated population in southern New Hampshire...
and found in mountainous and lowland regions of southeastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and extreme southwestern North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Little has been published on the species.
Appearance
Grayish black or black dorsumDorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
with brassy spotting. The chin is light coloured and the sides have more concentrated yellow or white spotting. Rounded cross section. The maximum size for adults is 151 mm from tip of the snout to tip of the tail.
Reproduction
Sexually active males have circular mental glands just behind the chin. The courtship ritual performed is indistinguishable from P. glutinosus. It ends with the deoposition of a spermatophoreSpermatophore
A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass created by males of various animal species, containing spermatozoa and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during copulation...
by the male which is picked up by the female's cloacal
Cloaca
In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, reproductive, and urinary tracts of certain animal species...
lips. Chemical cues are important in species recognition and prevention of interbreeding with P. oconaluftee. Males seem to prefer the odor of female conspecifics, while females tend to prefer the odor of male heterospecifics.