Salamanders at Whitetop Mountain

Author: Ty Smith
Counties: Smyth & Grayson
Survey Time: 12:00 am - 2:00 am | 9:00 am - 11:30 am
Basic Weather: Clear, Temps in the 60’s
Party Members: Ty Smith & Lindsey Hottinger

12:00 am - 2:00 am {Grayson Co.}
This was our first stop and where we spent the night on this trip to SW VA and TN. We explored the area that night to search for a few wandering Plethodon species. In my opinion, wandering the forest on a wetish night seems to be the best way to find the larger Plethodon species in VA. Many of these species will retreat back into a burrow during the day when they are flipped, but at night, they seem to be blinded and freeze-up in the lights. Here we had the following species:

Northern Gray-cheeked Salamander (Plethodon montanus) {25+}
This species was very plentiful (juveniles and adults), even though it was not a very wet night. They were hunting throughout the leaf litter along the trails as well as on the rocks. I have been here on wet nights in the past, where we have had 60+ individuals.
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Yonahlossee Salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee) {1}
We found this gorgeous adult on the trail on the way back to camp at 1:30 am. It was a large (7.5”) individual that posed for some good photos. This species is not particularly common in the locations it is found in Virginia, and most trips that find them usually yield only one or two. They like root balls, so looking in and near them at night is a good bet.

9:00 am - 11:00 am {Smyth Co.}
We woke up and checked the ditch along an old fire lane through the forest. We flipped logs and rocks to search for Duskies and Eurycea species. We didn’t find the Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander on this trip in our limited time (though I have found them here many times before), this is what we did find: 

Northern Dusky (Desmognathus fuscus) {3}
I think it is important to note these salamanders look odd at this location, and were once thought to be a population of Black Mountain Salamanders (D. welteri). These are no longer considered  Black Mountains in this area, however they are odd. For example, these Duskies have “portholes” which should rule out Northern Dusky based on many papers, and very large orange blotches. I usually equate these traits to the Flathead Salamander (D. planiceps). Only time, and probably DNA can tell. 

Black-bellied Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) {1}
We only found one adult individual, though I have found several juveniles here in the past. It was not a large adult, but a great specimen none of the less. This species can easily be found in the high mountain streams in the area, but apparently they like these ditches too.

Blue Ridge Dusky (Desmognathus orestes) {2}
These are usually numerous, but I believe the drier than normal ditch has caused them to disperse. This species can easily be found by log flipping throughout the forest as one would for Plethodons as well.