Urspelerpes
Encyclopedia
Urspelerpes brucei, the Patch-nosed salamander, is a lungless miniature salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

 found in streams of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 is the sole member of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Urspelerpes within the family Plethodontidae (the lungless salamander
Lungless salamander
The Plethodontidae, or Lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the western hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea...

s). It marks the first discovery of an endemic amphibian genus from the United States since Phaeognathus
Red Hills salamander
The Red Hills Salamander is a fairly large, terrestrial salamander growing to about 255 millimeters. Its body color is gray to brownish without markings, and its limbs are relatively short...

in 1961.

Physical description

This genus is believed to be closely related to brook salamanders (genus Eurycea
Eurycea
Eurycea is a genus of salamanders, native to North America. These salamanders are commonly referred to as brook salamanders.- Taxonomy :...

) but have five toes on the feet. A distinctive characteristic is a yellowish patch on the snout. Urspelerpes are tiny, and adults are about 5 cm (2 in) long. Males and females have different coloration, with males having a pair of dark stripes running down their body with yellow backs, and females being more muted in color (a trait that is more common in bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s). Similar to other salamander species this genus is believed to eat small terrestrial prey using its projectile tongue.

Range

The description of the species, published online in June 2009, for the Journal of Zoology
Journal of Zoology
The Journal of Zoology is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted towards general readers...

, was based on specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...

s collected at Stephens County, Georgia
Stephens County, Georgia
Stephens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 26,175. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 25,268. The county seat is Toccoa.-History:...

, (near Toccoa
Toccoa, Georgia
Toccoa is a city in Stephens County, Georgia, United States located approximately from Athens and approximately northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,323 at the 2000 census...

) in 2007, and several other sites in a region rich in salamander species. U. brucei is endemic to the United States and is its second smallest salamander.

Etymology

The name Urspelerpes means "archaic" (ur) "cave creeper" (spelerpes) in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

. The specific epithet brucei honors a professor at Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....

, Richard Bruce.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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