Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802)

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

Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1767, Syst. Nat. ed. 13: 370. Type(s): based on Catesby, 1754, Nat. Hist. Carolina Florida Bahama Is.: Appendix: pl. 10, fig. 10. Type locality: "Carolina", USA. Junior homonym of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758 (a lizard) and a nomen oblitum. 

Salamandra punctata Lacépède, 1788, Hist. Nat. Quadrup. Ovip. Serpens, 16mo ed., 2: 237, 456; Lacépède, 1788, Hist. Nat. Quadrup. Ovip. Serpens, Quarto ed., 1: table following page 618 and referencing account starting on page 491. Type(s): Not stated, but presumably originally in MNHNP and including animal figured by Catesby, 1754, Nat. Hist. Carolina Florida Bahama Is.: pl. 10, fig. 10, under the name Stellio aquaticus Americanus and also as Lacerta punctata Linnaeus (1767) in his appendix. Type locality: "Carolina"; restricted by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 20, to "vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina," USA. Rejected as published in a non-binominal work by Opinion 2104, Anonymous, 2005, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 62: 55.

Salamandra punctata Bonnaterre, 1789, Tab. Encyclop. Method. Trois Reg. Nat., Erp.: 63. Holotype: Animal figured by Catesby, 1754, Nat. Hist. Carolina Florida Bahama Is.: pl. 10, fig. 10, under the name Stellion aquatique. Type locality:"Virginie", USA. Junior homonym of Salamandra punctata Lacépède, 1788, and presumably a subsequent usage of that name. Although Salamandra punctata Lacépède, 1788, is a suppressed name, Salamandra punctata Bonnaterre, 1789, is a nomen oblitum.

Lacerta palustris Bechstein, 1800, in Lacépède's Naturgesch. Amphib., 2: 544. Replacement name for Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1767. Junior primary homonym of Lacerta palustris Schneider, 1799. See Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134: 160, for discussion. 

Lacerta maculata Shaw, 1802, Gen. Zool., 3(1): 304. Type(s): Based on Catesby, 1754, Nat. Hist. Carolina Florida Bahama Is.: Appendix: pl. 10, fig. 10. Type locality: "Carolina", USA; restricted to "vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 20. Stejneger, 1902, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 15: 240, considered this a substitute name for Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1767 (preoccupied by Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758, a lizard). Synonymy with Salamandra punctata by Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph.: 185. See Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134: 160, for discussion. 

Salamandra venenosa Daudin, 1803 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Gen. Part. Rept., 8: 229. Type(s): Not known to exist, although likely originally in MNHNP. Type locality: "Philadelphia [Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA] . . . a peu de distance de cette villa". Synonymy with Salamandra punctata by Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph.: 185; (with Ambystoma punctata) by Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 208; Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 283. Synonymy (with Ambystoma argus) by Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 103. Synonymy with Salamandra subviolacea by Harlan, 1827, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 5: 327; with Ambystoma carolinae) by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 31. Synonymy (with Amblystoma punctatum) by Strauch, 1870, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, Ser. 7, 16 (4): 63, and Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 41.

Lacerta subviolacea Barton, 1804, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., 6: 109. Type(s): Not known to exist although likely to have been originally in ANSP. Type locality: "a few miles from the city of Philadelphia", Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA. Synonymy (with Ambystoma argus) by Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 103; (with Ambystoma carolinae) by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 35; (with Amblystoma punctatum) by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 41. Synonymy (with Ambystoma punctata) by Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 283. Synonymy by Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 175.

Salamandra maculata — Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 350.

Salamandra subviolacea — Harlan, 1827, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 5: 317.

Ambystoma subviolaceum — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 92.

Salamandroidis subviolacea — Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept.: 33.

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

Siredon maculatus — Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 292.

Ambystoma carolinae Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 35. Based on the fictitious "Lacerta carolinae Linn. S. N. Ed. 10". In error presumed to be a substitute name for Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1766 (rather than the correct Linnaeus, 1767), by Stejneger, 1902, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 15: 240.

Salamandra argus Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 35. Nomen nudum attributed to Bell. Not available for reason of being coined as a junior synonym of Ambystoma carolinae.

Ambystome argus Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 103. Substitute name for Lacerta punctata Linnaeus. Thireau, 1986, Cat. Types Urodeles Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Rev. Crit.: 14, regarded this as a new name with MNHNP 1231 as a syntype and a type locality of "New-Jersey", USA (although the locality given in the original is "l'Amérique septentrionale". Incorrect subsequent spelling of Ambystoma. Synonymy (with Amblystoma punctatum) by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 41.

Salamandra margaritifera Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 103, 105. Substitute name for all previous names. Thireau, 1986, Cat. Types Urodeles Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Rev. Crit.: 38, regarded this as a new name with MNHNP 1231 as the holotype (also a syntype of Ambystome argus—DRF) with an unstated type locality. Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 65, considered the name to be a nomen nudum. 

Ambistoma punctatum — Jan, 1857, Cenni Mus. Civ. Milano: 55. Incorrect subsequent spelling of the generic name.

Camarataxis maculata — Cope, 1859, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 11: 123.

Ambystoma carolina — Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 182. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Salamandra maculata — Wied-Neuwied, 1865, Nova Acta Phys. Med. Acad. Caesar Leopold Carol., Halle, 32: 129. Secondary homonym of Salamandra maculata Green.

Amblystoma punctatum — Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 175. 

Amblysoma maculatum — Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 185. Considered a synonym of Amblystoma mavortium. 

Amblystoma maculatum — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 38. Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 36. Incorrect spelling of the genus. 

Ambystoma punctatum — Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 435.

Ambystoma maculatum — Stejneger, 1902, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 15: 239.

Ambystoma (Ambystoma) maculatum — Tihen, 1958, Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sci., 3: 3, 39; Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161. See comment under Ambystoma regarding subgenera.  

Common Names

Brown-spotted Salamander (Salamandra maculata: Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 350; Storer, 1840, Boston J. Nat. Hist., 3: 63).

Violet-colored Salamander (Salamandra venenosa [no longer recognized]: Storer, 1839, Rep. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Massachusetts: 247; Storer, 1840, Boston J. Nat. Hist., 3: 56).

Yellow-spotted Salamander (Verrill, 1863, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 9: 198).

Spotted Eft (Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 182 [as Ambystoma carolina]).

Violet colored Salamander (Smith, 1877, Tailed Amph.: 36).

Large spotted Salamander (Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 195).

Spotted Salamander (Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 107; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 20; Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 435; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 406; Britcher, 1903, Proc. Onondaga Acad. Sci., Syracuse, 1: 120; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 42 Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 153; Strecker, 1915, Baylor Univ. Bull., 18: 55; Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 10; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 143; Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 390; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 17; 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: 255; 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: 14; 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.: 33; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 23).

Large Spotted Salamander (Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 26).

Distribution

Nova Scotia and Gaspe Peninsula west through Quebec to central Ontario in Canada, and south through the eastern USA from Wisconsin to East Texas and east to southern Georgia, excluding the peninsula of Florida.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Canada, United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Arkansas, United States of America - Connecticut, United States of America - Delaware, United States of America - District of Columbia, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Illinois, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Maine, United States of America - Maryland, United States of America - Massachusetts, United States of America - Michigan, United States of America - Minnesota, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - Missouri, United States of America - New Hampshire, United States of America - New Jersey, United States of America - New York, United States of America - North Carolina, United States of America - Ohio, United States of America - Oklahoma, United States of America - Pennsylvania, United States of America - Rhode Island, United States of America - South Carolina, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Texas, United States of America - Vermont, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia, United States of America - Wisconsin

Comment

Some authors (e.g., Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 20, Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 175) have regarded Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1766, Syst. Nat., Ed. 12, 1(1): 370, as a senior synonym of Salamandra maculata Shaw, and not identical with Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., Ed. 10, 1: 369. Both citations in Linnaeus, 1758, and 1766 are identical word for word and clearly refer to a lizard. Obviously, an error made early in the secondary literature has persisted for over 100 years (DRF). Nevertheless, Ambystoma punctatum is a nomen oblitum. See detailed accounts by Anderson, 1967, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 51: 1–4,Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 76–87, and Savage and Zamudio, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 617–621. Willey and Jones, 2011, Herpetol. Rev., 42: 104–105, provided a northern record in Quebec, Canada Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 103–104, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 88–90, provided an account of larval morphology. Johnson, White, Phillips, and Zamudio, 2015, J. Heredity, 105: 608–617. reported on a mtDNA haplotype contact and introgression zone on either side of the Missouri–Illinois, USA, border area. See Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134: 160–162, for discussion of the convoluted and difficult nomenclatural history of this species. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 167–168, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map). Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA. 

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