Desmognathus anicetus Pyron and Beamer, 2023

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Plethodontidae > Subfamily: Plethodontinae > Genus: Desmognathus > Species: Desmognathus anicetus

Desmognathus anicetus Pyron and Beamer, 2023, Zootaxa, 5311: 481. Holotype: USNM 596929, by original designation. Type locality: "a tributary of Callahan Branch (S[outh]C[arolina]: Greenville; 35.129, -82.394; 390m ASL)". Zoobank publication registration: 55C03344-6CA2-43A1-9785-8E06B7A9BA03

Common Names

Foothills Dusky Salamander (original publication). 

Distribution

North-central South Carolina and the adjacent Blue Ridge foothills, potentially into nearby North Carolina, USA; populations in the Saluda Mountains of adjacent North Carolina extending towards Hickory Nut Gorge are apparently of hybrid origin, sharing genomic ancestry and mitochondrial haplotypes with both Desmognathus campi and Desmognathus carolinensis, while still exhibiting some phenotypic similarity and phylogenetic proximity to lineal Desmognathus anicetus. Elevational range ~200–1100 m.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - South Carolina

Likely/Controversially Present: United States of America - North Carolina

Endemic: United States of America

Comment

Previously referred to as the Desmognathus conanti F lineage of Pyron, O'Connell, Lemmon, Lemmon, and Beamer, 2020, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 146 (106751): 1–13, according to the original publication, where comparative morphology, molecular markers, habitat, and range were detailed. 

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