Plethodon meridianus Highton and Peabody, 2000

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

Plethodon meridianus Highton and Peabody, 2000, in Bruce et al., Biol. Plethodontid Salamanders: 61. Holotype: USNM 454653, by original designation. Type locality: "South Mountains (35° 35′ 08″ N 81° 41′ 22″ W, locality 34), Burke-Cleveland county line, North Carolina, at an elevation of 823 m", USA.

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

Common Names

South Mountain Gray-cheeked Salamander (original publication; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 27; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 21; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 30; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 74; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 31).

South Mountain Graycheek Salamander (Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 14).

Distribution

South Mountains of Burke, Cleveland, and Rutherford counties, North Carolina, USA, 543–823 m elevation.

Geographic Occurrence

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

Endemic: United States of America, United States of America - North Carolina

Comment

In the Plethodon glutinosus group, Plethodon jordani complex, according to the original publication. Beamer and Lannoo, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 822–823, provided a detailed account that summarized the biology and conservation literature. Weisrock and Larson, 2006, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 89: 25–51, discussed the phylogenetic status of this species. See photograph, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 584. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 402–403, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 927, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 927, provided an account summarizing systematics, morphology, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map). Radomski, Hargrove, and Kozak, 2024, Herpetologica, 80: 91–96, reported on habitat preference. 

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