Plethodon glutinosus (Green, 1818)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Plethodontidae > Subfamily: Plethodontinae > Genus: Plethodon > Species: Plethodon glutinosus

Salamandra glutinosa Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 357. Type(s): Not stated but likely originally in the ANSP; not known to exist according to Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 138; BMNH has an unnumbered specimen from 1818 that might be a surviving syntype according to museum records. Type locality: Not stated, but clearly the vicinity of Princeton, New Jersey, USA, according to Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 138, the type locality is "obviously Princeton, New Jersey", USA. DRF does not understand what is obvious about the type locality other than Green apparently lived there. Placed on the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology by Opinion 921, Anonymous, 1970, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 27: 79.

Plethodon glutinosus — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 92.

Plethodon glutinosum — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 39.

Cylindrosoma glutinosum — Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 80.

Cylindrosoma albopunctata Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 81. Type(s): MNHNP, by original designation. Type locality: "Savanah", Georgia, USA. Noted as a nomen nudum attributed to Valenciennes by Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 81, in the synonymy of Cylindrosoma glutinosum Tschudi. (Note—The type locality of this taxon, outside of the known range suggests that it may be misplaced in this synonymy—DRF.)

Plethodon variolosum Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 83. Type(s): Not stated although clearly in the MNHNP; MNHNP 4666 and (2 specimens) 4667 are syntypes according to Thireau, 1986, Cat. Types Urodeles Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Rev. Crit.: 80; MNHNP 0.4666 designated lectotype by Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134: 157. Type locality: "l'Amérique sept. (Etats-Unis)"; corrected to "Caroline du Sud [= South Carolina]", USA, by Thireau, 1986, Cat. Types Urodeles Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Rev. Crit.: 80 (who provided an extensive discussion). Named coined in synonymy with Salamandra porphyritica Green, but clearly based on unique types. Synonymy by Hallowell, 1858, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 3: 343; Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 137. Pyron and Beamer, 2022, Zootaxa, 5134: 157, noted that due to questions about the type locality it is difficult to ascertain whether this name is a junior synonym of Plethodon chlorobryonis, Plethodon cylindraceus, Plethodon glutinosus, or Plethodon variolatus. 

Salamandra elongata Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 84. Nomen nudum coined as a synonym of Plethodon variolosum and attributed to Valenciennes.

Salamandra melanoleuca Wied-Neuwied, 1865, Nova Acta Phys. Med. Acad. Caesar Leopold Carol., Halle, 32: 130. Type(s): Not known to exist. Type locality: "Nazareth [, Northampton County] in Pennsylvanien", USA. Synonymy by Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 137.

Amblystoma melanoleuca — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 38.

Plethodon glutinosus glutinosus — Dunn, 1920, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 33: 131.

Plethodon (Plethodon) glutinosus — Vieites, Nieto-Roman, Wake, and Wake, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 632, by implication.

Common Names

Blue-spotted Salamander (Salamandra glutinosa: Storer, 1839, Rep. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Massachusetts: 252; Storer, 1840, Boston J. Nat. Hist., 3: 63; De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 81).

Glutinous Salamander (Salamandra glutinosa: Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 357.

Grey-spotted Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus: Hallowell, 1858, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 3: 342).

Slimy Lizard (Plethodon glutinosus: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 21).

Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus: Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 444; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 155; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 59; Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 16; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 34; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 8).

Blue Spotted Salamander (Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 59).

Sticky Salamander (Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 59).

Viscid Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus: Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 193; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 27; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 401; Britcher, 1903, Proc. Onondaga Acad. Sci., Syracuse, 1: 120; Brimley, 1915, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 30: 5).

Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus: Highton in Highton, Maha, and Maxson, 1989, Illinois Biol. Monogr., 57: 61; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 33; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 8; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 26; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 20; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 14; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 29; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 31).

Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus glutinosus sensu lato [no longer recognized]: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 250; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 34; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 276).

Distribution

Southwestern Connecticut west to southern and central Illinois and south through West Virginia, western Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee to northeastern and central Alabama, and northern Georgia, USA. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Connecticut, United States of America - Florida, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Illinois, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Maryland, 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 - Tennessee, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia

Endemic: United States of America

Comment

In the Plethodon glutinosus group of Highton and Larson, 1979, Syst. Zool., 28: 579–599. References to the name Plethodon glutinosus before the revision of Highton, Maha, and Maxson, 1989, Illinois Biol. Monogr., 57: 57, may refer to several other species. Data presented by Carr, 1996, Herpetologica, 52: 56–65, suggest that this nominal taxon represents more than one species, as did that of Kozak, Weisrock, and Larson, 2006, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, Biol. Sci., 273: 539–546.  Fisher-Reid and Wiens, 2011, BMC Evol. Biol., 11 (300): 1–20, also presented topological evidence that nominal Plethodon glutinosus is neither one species nor a monophyletic group, with one lineage more closely related to Plethodon sequoyah, another one closer to one population of Plethodon aureolus, and yet another closer to another population of Plethodon aureolus. See comments under Plethodon albagula, Plethodon chattahoochee, Plethodon chlorobryonis, Plethodon cylindraceus, Plethodon grobmani, Plethodon kiamichi, Plethodon kisatchie, Plethodon mississippi, Plethodon ocmulgee, Plethodon savannah, Plethodon sequoyah, and Plethodon variolatus. Beamer and Lannoo, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 808–811, provided a detailed account that summarized the biology and conservation literature. Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 355, rejected the distinction of Plethodon grobmani from Plethodon glutinosus on the basis of overall similarity. Beamer and Lannoo, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 811–812, provided a detailed account that summarized the biology and conservation literature. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 399–400, provided brief accounts, photographs, and range maps for nominal Plethodon grobmani, Plethodon glutinosus, and Plethodon mississippi. Guyer, Goetz, Folt, Joyce, and Hayes, 2019, Copeia, 107: 694–700, demonstrated that no morphological distinction can be drawn between Plethodon grobmani and Plethodon mississippi in Alabama, suggesting the lack of a species boundary. Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 30, recognized Plethodon ainsworthi for undisclosed reasons. Joyce, Hayes, Potter, and Guyer, 2019, Copeia, 107: 701–707, took issue with the genetic distance approach employed by Highton, Maha, and Maxson, 1989, Illinois Biol. Monogr., 57: 1–153, which is the basis upon which most of the species within the Plethodon glutinosus complex were named. They presented a molecular analysis that suggested no recognizable historical entities consistent with recognized species boundaries in Alabama and suggested they embraced the pre-Highton et al (1989) taxonomy also embraced by Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada. However, Joyce, Hayes, Potter, and Guyer, 2019, Copeia, 107: 701–707, only addressed via phylogenetic analysis of mt- and nu-DNA markers the apparently illusory previously hypothesized species boundaries within Alabama, USA. So, for purposes of this catalogue,  members of the Plethodon glutinosus complex recognized after 1997 are retained pending those taxa being formally addressed. Nevertheless, it is clear that the taxonomy of the Plethodon glutinosus complex requires revisiting. Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 410, recovered in their large-scale tree of amphibians Plethodon mississippi, Plethodon grobmani, and Plethodon glutinosus not as nearest relatives, further deepening the concern for species boundaries. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 913–914, provided an account summarizing systematics, morphology, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map).

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