A New Salamander of the Genus Plethodon from Virginia

Abstract

Plethodon richmondi shenandoah, n. ssp., occurs with P. cinereus in the Blue Ridge physiographic province of Virginia. It has a modal number of 19 trunk vertebrae, color phase dimorphism, a narrow dorsal stripe in the striped phase, reduced brassy iridophore pigmentation in the unstriped Plethodon richmondi shenandoah, n. ssp., occurs with P. cinereus in the phase, and a dark belly. It is apparently separated into three isolates be- cause of its restricted habitat distribution (north-facing talus slopes above 3000 ft). The differences between P. r. shenandoah and P. cinereus are not ecophenotypic since offspring of the two forms reared under the same laboratory conditions show the differential characteristics of the respective species. Some introgression between the two species is occurring at the periphery of one of the three isolates of shenandoah.