Tellico salamander

The Tellico salamander (Plethodon aureolus) is a small woodland salamander resembling Plethodon glutinosus found in mountainous and lowland regions of southeastern Tennessee and extreme southwestern North Carolina. Little has been published on the species.

Tellico salamander
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)
Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Plethodontidae
Subfamily:	Plethodontinae
Genus:	Plethodon
Species:	P. aureolus
Binomial name
Plethodon aureolus Highton, 1983

Appearance

It has a grayish-black or black dorsum with brassy spotting. The chin is light-coloured and the sides have more concentrated yellow or white spotting. This brassy coloration is the source of the specific name aureolus, Latin for "gilded" or "ornamented". Rounded in cross section, the maximum size for adults is 151 mm (5.9 in) 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 deposition of a spermatophore 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.

Further reading

• Petranka, James W. (1998) Salamanders of the United States and Canada, Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press.
• Amphibian Species of the World