Electrophoretic Variation in Appalachian Populations of the Desmognathus fuscus Complex (Amphibia: Plethodontidae)
Tilley SG and Schwerdtfeger PM. 1981. Electrophoretic Variation in Appalachian Populations of the Desmognathus fuscus Complex (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Copeia. 1981(1):109-119
While it is distributed over much of eastern North America, Desmognathus fuscus is largely absent from the high mountains of the southern Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. Populations of salamanders allied to D. fuscus do occur at high elevations in the Great Smoky, Unicoi and Great Balsam mountains, and electrophoretic studies indicate that they represent a distinct, undescribed species. Both the undescribed form and D. fuscus occur in the Unicoi Mountains, where they are separated altitudinally, and where no gene exchange occurs between populations separated by only 6 km. The undescribed form is genetically more similar to southern than to northern populations of D. fuscus.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Tilley, Stephen; Schwerdtfeger, Paula
- Units
- BLRI
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Blue Ridge Parkway, Electrophoresis, Great Balsam Mountains (BLRI, NC), new dusky salamander (Desmognathus santeetlah), Salamanders (Caudata), Section 2-X, Waterrock Knob (BLRI)