Variation in the Dorsal Pattern of Desmognathus ochrophaeus at Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, and Elsewhere in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Tilley SG. 1969. Variation in the Dorsal Pattern of Desmognathus ochrophaeus at Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, and Elsewhere in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Copeia. 1969(1):161-175
The dorsal pattern of Desmognathus ochrophaeus is a composite of several components, each of which is influenced by different combinations of sexual, genetic, and ontogenetic variation. Analysis of variation within these components at Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, has failed to indicate the presence of more than one sympatric species at that locality. Variation in one component, the dorsolateral pattern, indicates that its various configurations have genetic bases, and that a zone of maximum variability exists in the southern Appalachians. This zone may represent an area of secondary contact resulting from the southward dispersal of individuals from the Cumberland and Allegheny mountains carrying genes for straight dorsolateral stripes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Tilley, Stephen
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Amphibians, Animal Studies, Caudata, Desmognathus, dusky salamanders, Great Smoky Mountains National Park NC TN, GRSM-00254