Northern Zigzag Salamander
Plethodon dorsalis Cope, 1889

Taxonomy

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class

Troglophile

Realm

Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from 25 counties across four states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee

Counties

Illinois

Monroe, Pope, St. Clair

Indiana

Lawrence, Monroe

Kentucky

Carter, Edmonson, Hart, Livingston, Metcalfe, Pulaski, Trigg, Warren

Tennessee

Coffee, Fentress, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Overton, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren, White

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

Assessed in 2022.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

National ranks

United States

N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Kentucky

S5 Secure

Indiana

S4 Apparently Secure

Illinois

S4 Apparently Secure

Tennessee

S4 Apparently Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

• Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
• Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987.
• Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
• Cope, E.D. & Packard, A.S. 1881. The fauna of the Nickajack Cave. American Naturalist 15: 877–882.
• Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1979. Caves and associated fauna of Eastern Kentucky, Volume 3. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 130 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2004. Interstate 66 karst faunal study. Environmental Impact Statement. 17 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2005. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2007. A biological reconnaissance of selected caves in the Highland Rim area of central Tennessee. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 42 pp.
• Niemiller, M.L. & Miller, B.T. 2009. A survey of the cave-associated herpetofauna of the eastern United States with an emphasis on salamanders. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville, Texas, USA, Volume 1: 249–256.
• Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.

How to cite this account

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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