Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Ambystomatidae > Genus: Ambystoma > Species: Ambystoma jeffersonianum

Salamandra jeffersoniana Green, 1827, Contrib. Maclurian Lyc. Arts Sci., 1: 4. Type(s): Not stated; according to Uzzell, 1967, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 47: 1, USNM 3968 might be the holotype (see Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 150, Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 94, and Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 15). Type locality: "Near Chartier's creek in the vicinity of Jefferson College [formerly] at Cannonsburg", Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Xiphonura jeffersonianaTschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 93.

Salamandra jeffersoniana — Holbrook, 1842, N. Am. Herpetol., Ed. 2, 5: 52. 

Salamandra granulata De Kay in Holbrook, 1842, N. Am. Herpetol., Ed. 2, 5: 63. Type(s): Including specimen figured on pl. 20; not now known to exist, although Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 24, listed USNM 3981 (2 specimens), as syntypes of Salamandra granulata DeKay (which is nomenclaturally a subsequent usage of Salamandra granulata Holbrook) but according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 24, and Uzzell, 1967, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 47: 2, these are referable to the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex, likely Ambystoma jeffersonianum. The adult of the two specimens numbered USNM 3981 designated lectotype by Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134:174. Type locality: "the northern districts of New York", USA. See Adler, 1976, Holbrook’s N. Am. Herpetol.: xxxviii, for discussion of authorship, and who considered Holbrook to have precedence over De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 78, but see Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134:174, for a more nuanced view. Synonymy with Salamandra jeffersoniana by Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 195. Adler, 1976, Holbrook’s N. Am. Herpetol.: xxxix, noted that the synonymy is questionable. Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 81, suggested that it may be a synonym of Plethodon glutinosus (sensu lato).  Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134:174, examined the syntypes and found them to be examples of Ambystoma jeffersonianumTighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 15, briefly discussed the primary and secondary types. 

Ambystoma jeffersonianaBaird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 283.

Ambystoma fuscum Hallowell, 1858, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 3: 355, also described as new by Hallowell, 1858 "1857", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 9: 10. Holotype : ANSP 1379 according to Fowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 10; and Malnate, 1971, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 123: 348. Type locality: "Indiana, near Hanover College", Hanover, Jefferson County, Indiana, USA. Synonymy by Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 197.

Plethodon persimilis Gray, 1859, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1859: 230. Syntypes: Not stated, BMNH 1859.7.1.91–92 according to museum records. Type locality: "Siam" (in error); thought in error to be from "Laos Mountains?" by Mivart, 1868 "1867", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867: 699; designated as "vicinity of New York City", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 19. This designation considered invalid by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 80. Synonymy by Noble, 1926, Am. Mus. Novit., 212: 17.

Pectoglossa persimilisMivart, 1868 "1867", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867: 698.

Amblystoma jeffersonianumCope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 195.

Amblystoma platineum Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 198. Syntypes: "[USNM] No. 7145 . . . [and] 4688" from original publication; by museum records, USNM 3998 and 39444 (recatalogued from 3988) (according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 5), and ANSP 1299 ? (regarded in error as the 'type' by Fowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 10); see Uzzell, 1964, Copeia, 1964: 292, for discussion. Type locality: "Cleveland, [Cuyahoga County,] Ohio", USA, and "Unknown". Resurrected by Uzzell, 1964, Copeia, 1964: 257-300, for an hypothesized gynogenetic hybrid origin lineage of Ambystoma laterale x Ambystoma jeffersonianum; that a unitary gynogenetic lineage exists was rejected by Lowcock, Licht, and Bogart, 1987, Syst. Zool., 36: 328-336. See Ambystoma laterale synonymy for further entries. Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 7, discussed confusion in the literature regarding the types. 

Amblystoma jeffersonianum var. fuscumCope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 197. Incorrect subsequent spelling of the genus. 

Amblystoma persimileStrauch, 1870, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, Ser. 7, 16 (4): 65.

Amblystoma jeffersonianum jeffersonianumCope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 26. Incorrect subsequent spelling of the genus. 

Ambystoma jeffersonianum platineumFowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 10.

Ambystoma jeffersonianum fuscumFowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 10.

Ambystoma jeffersonianumDunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 458.

Amblystoma persimilisBourret, 1927, Fauna Indochine, Vert., 3: 254.

Ambystoma tremblayi Comeau, 1943, Ann. Assoc. Canad.-Franç. Avance. Sci., 9: 124. Holotype: Deposition unclear from the original paper, but apparently likely originally in the Section of Biology of the Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; considered lost by Brame, 1959, Herpetologica, 15: 20. Type locality: Not stated in original publication; designated as "Cap Rouge, [Quebec County,] Province of Quebec, Canada", by Brame, 1959, Herpetologica, 15: 20 (who also argued that the name is a nomen nudum [although characters that purport to distinguish the taxon are provided in the original—DRF]). Recognized as a gynogenetic lineage by Uzzell, 1964, Copeia, 1964: 257-300; considered part of a hybrid swarm of a Ambystoma laterale x Ambystoma jeffersonianum, and not a unitary lineage, by Lowcock, Licht, and Bogart, 1987, Syst. Zool., 36: 328-336. See Ambystoma laterale account.

Ambystoma (Ambystoma) jeffersonianumTihen, 1958, Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sci., 3: 3, 39.

Ambystoma (Xiphonura) jeffersonianumDubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 147. See comment under Ambystoma regarding the status of subgenera. 

English Names

Granulated Salamander (Salamandra granulata [a no longer recognized nomen dubium]: De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 78; Amblystoma jeffersonianum: Smith, 1877, Tailed Amph.: 40).

Jefferson's Salamander (Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 196; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 20; Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 439; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 153; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 133; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 19).

Plumbeous Salamander (Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 402).

Jefferson Salamander (Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 50; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 173; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 254; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 4; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 27; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 5; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 18; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 13; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 10; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 23; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 32; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 22).

Brown Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum fuscum [no longer recognized]: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 21).

Distribution

Central New Hampshire and southern Quebec (Canada) southwest to southern Indiana, extreme eastern Illinois, central Kentucky, western Virginia and West Virginia; involved in an extensive hybrid zone with Ambystoma laterale to the northwest of this area so distribution is highly provisional (see comment). 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Canada, United States of America, United States of America - Connecticut, United States of America - Illinois, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Maine, United States of America - Maryland, United States of America - Massachusetts, United States of America - New Hampshire, United States of America - New Jersey, United States of America - New York, United States of America - Ohio, United States of America - Pennsylvania, United States of America - Vermont, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia

Comment

See detailed accounts by Uzzell, 1967, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 47: 1–2, and (especially) Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 58–63. Involved in widespread development of hybrid swarms with Ambystoma laterale, Ambystoma texanum, and Ambystoma tigrinum (see Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 122–129, for summary). Phillips, Uzzell, Spolsky, Serb, Szafoni, and Pollowy, 1997, J. Herpetol., 31: 530–535, applied the name Ambystoma platineum to a triploid population and reportedly gynogenetic population at Kickapoo State Park, Ohio, USA. Bogart, 2003, in Sever (ed.), Reprod. Biol. Phylogeny Urodela: 109–134, discussed complex hybridization with Ambystoma laterale, Ambystoma texanum, and Ambystoma tigrinum. Bogart and Klemens, 2008, Am. Mus. Novit., 3627: 1–58, provided records of this species in the northeastern USA and its associated unisexual kleptogenic populations. Bi, Bogart, and Fu, 2008, Chromosome Res., 16: 275–289, reported on genealogical relationships of kleptogenic populations in Ontario, Canada. Brodman, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 611–613, provided a detailed account. Phillips and Mui, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 640–642, discussed the uniparental and hybrid swarms formerly called Ambystoma tremblayi and Ambystoma platineum.  Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 107–108, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 85–86, provided an account of larval morphology. Bogart, 2019, Herpetologica, 75: 259–267, reviewed the hybrid unisexual populations associated with this species. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 170–172, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map) . Raffaelli (p. 173–174) also addressed the associated klepton uniparental, Ambystoma platineum

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