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***New and poorly understood species. More genetic work needs to be done, but it seems this species, or at least an intergrade comprised of mostly this species, occurs in Virginia.*** Recognized Subspecies in VA: None Size: 4 - 7 inches Status: Undetermined Description & BehaviorThe Tyrannosaurus rex of Desmognathus. Large, big-headed, frog-eyed salamander whose diet includes other salamanders. This species is very similar to the Kanawha Blackbelly Salamander and was described at the same time. Blue Ridge Blackbelly Salamanders tend to have a black base with heavy gold, olive, and orange flecking on the dorsal. Juveniles often have two rows of orange spots down the back that break-up over time. Often there are portholes on the lower flank, and often a dashed line of spots along the edge of the dorsal. The throat is very pale gray, but the venter is a dark, purple-gray, giving the "blackbelly" name. Juveniles often have paler venters. The tip of the toes are keratinized and black. Blackbelly salamanders can be found by flipping rocks and logs in streams, or by spotlighting streams at night. They rarely travel out of the stream bed. Habitat
Our original thoughts were that the Blue Ridge Blackbelly Salamander fell short of the Virginia line, but the one specimen sampled from what appears to be the Big Laurel Creek-Whitetop Laurel Creek drainage was genetically a higher percentage Blue Ridge Blackbelly Salamander than it was Kanawha Blackbelly. This implies that this drainage is likely an overlap zone and calling these animals anything is tricky. That said, this specimen was about as much Blue Ridge Blackbelly Salamander as our Eastern Coyotes are Coyote, so for simplicity we are just calling it a *Blue Ridge Blackbelly Salamander (note the astric). It seems this species or intergrade is found in the Big Laurel Creek-Whitetop Laurel Creek and Beaverdam Creek-Laurel Creek Drainages and quite likely in the Rockhouse Run-South Fork Holston River, South Holston Lake-South Fork Holston River, and Painter Spring Branch-South Fork Holston River Drainages. Blackbelly Salamanders like big rocks and fast waters. We tend to find them in very steep streams with big boulders; especially when the water flows through the boulders forming many waterfalls and pools. These streams often have high salamander diversity overall. We have found them on the edge of rivers in boulder piles as well. Keep in mind blackbelly salamanders are usually in lower densities than most other Desmognathus species, likely as they are predators to other salamanders. Similar SpeciesWe are still working out the complications with the Kanawha Blackbelly Salamander (including in our photos in the Kanawha Blackbelly Salamander profile), so expect this section soon. Taxonomy & Phylogeny
As mentioned above, we do not quite understand this population. In yet another Pyron, Beamer, and team paper: Complex Hybridization in a Clade of Polytypic Salamanders (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus) Uncovered by Estimating Higher-Level Phylogenetic Networks, figure 1 suggests that all Virginia specimens are Kanawha, but in Figure 5 we see more detail. What we see is the Big Laurel Creek-Whitetop Laurel Creek specimen is only more Kanawha if one divides the Blue Ridge genetics into the three lineages represented in the paper. So, if these three lineages ever get split into seperate species it would be more Kanawha though as of now it is more Blue Ridge. I will be clear and say that we are being conservative to the data by saying these are more or less Blue Ridge Blackbellies, but this is also being kinda liberal saying that Virginia has a new species of Desmognathus. This is just the weird position we are finding ourselves in. So, do with the information what you will. We are not taking a side as of yet, but trying to get ahead of this and let hobby herpers get this information. If you want to know my (Ty's) position, this is a good example of why species do not truly exist as there are three ways to define this one population and all are completely valid. I should probably mention that both of these species used to be part of the species called the "Blackbelly Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus)". This species was split into four species, but unlike many other instances of splitting where the holotype specimen keeps its name, quadramaculatus was ditched. Why? Well apparently when the holotype specimen was examined it was discovered that it was a Northern Dusky... We have had such a clear picture in or heads of this species only to find the holotype was either incorrectly IDed or there was a labeling mistake (which is likely the case). Desmognathus never ceases to amaze me... Works CitedR Alexander Pyron, Kyle A O’Connell, Edward A Myers, David A Beamer, Hector Baños, Complex Hybridization in a Clade of Polytypic Salamanders (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus) Uncovered by Estimating Higher-Level Phylogenetic Networks, Systematic Biology, Volume 74, Issue 1, January 2025, Pages 124–140, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae060
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