Redback salamander

Redback salamander

Plethodon cinereus

ITIS Species Code: 173649 NatureServ Element Code: AAAAD12020

Taxa:

Order:

Family:

Amphibia

Caudata

Plethodontidae

NatureServe Global Rank:

NatureServe State (NC) Rank:

Federal Status:

NC State Status:

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HEXAGONAL KNOWN RANGE:

PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION:

SUMMARY OF STATEWIDE PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION:

Land Unit

US Fish & Wildlife Service

US Forest Service

US National Park Service

US Department of Defense

NC State Parks

NC University System

NC Wildlife Res. Com.

NC Forest Service

NC Div. of Coastal Mgmt.

Local Governments

Non-Governmental Org.

Other Public Lands

Private Lands

GAP Status 1-2

All Protected Lands

Statewide

Hectares

1,271.25

93,958.65

3,768.12

6,707.07

8,701.47

1,032.66

21,351.33

726.30

405.36

6,151.95

5,426.19

1,937.07

1,599,996.33

41,113.08

150,763.14

1,751,433.75

Acres

3,141.33

232,176.84

9,311.23

16,573.53

21,501.80

2,551.76

52,760.28

1,794.73

1,001.67

15,201.80

13,408.40

4,786.60

3,953,676.26

101,592.61

372,543.76

4,327,886.21

% of Dist. on

Prot. Lands

0.8 %

62.3 %

2.2 %

4.4 %

5.8 %

0.7 %

14.2 %

0.5 %

0.3 %

3.6 %

1.2 %

0.0 %

27.3 %

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% of Dist. on

All Lands

< 0.1 %

5.4 %

0.2 %

0.4 %

0.5 %

< 0.1 %

1.2 %

< 0.1 %

0.4 %

0.3 %

0.1 %

91.4 %

2.3 %

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HABITAT DESCRIPTION:

In North Carolina, the redback salamander is found in the northern and eastern mountains, and in northern sections of the lower piedmont and coastal plain (Martof et al. 1980). An isolated population occurs in the southern coastal plain along the Cape Fear river.
This species lives in well-shaded forest settings, with mesic, well-drained soils (Wilson 1995, Petranka 1998). It uses damp ground cover or microhabitat situations on the floor of conifer, deciduous or mixed forests (Wilson 1995, Petranka 1998). High abundances have been found in mature forests with deep, well-drained non-acidic soils (Petranka 1998). Avoids seeps, springs or other wet areas (Wilson 1995).
NATURE SERVE GLOBAL HABITAT COMMENTS:

Damp microhabitats in wooded areas; inside logs, under leaf litter, or under surface objects during day. Goes underground during freezing or hot, dry weather. In New York, tended to be absent where soil pH was less than 3.8; much more abundant in beech forest than in hemlock forest (Wyman 1988, Wyman and Jancola 1992, Frisbie and Wyman 1992). Lays eggs in cavity in log or stump or under rock or other objects on ground.

MODELING DESCRIPTION:

Occupied Landcover Map Units:

Code	Name	Description	NC Natural Heritage Program Equivalent
121	Maritime Pinelands	Loblolly forests and woodlands of the outer coastal plain.	Estuarine Fringe Loblolly Pine Forest
17	Maritime Forests and Hammocks	Maritime forests and woodlands dominated by live or sand laurel oak. Estuarine Fringe forests dominated by loblolly pine.	Coastal Fringe Evergreen Forest, Maritime Deciduous Forest, Maritime Deciduous Forest
63	Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forests	Beech dominated forests with white oak and northern red oak as possible co-dominants. Dry-mesic to mesic forests on slopes and small stream bottoms in the coastal plain.	Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forest, Basic Mesic Forests
138	Coastal Plain Dry to Dry-Mesic Oak Forests	Oak dominated forests of the coastal plain. Includes white oak forests with water oak or northern red oak and hickories as co-dominants.	Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Basic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest
97	Mesic Longleaf Pine	Longleaf pine woodlands without a major scrub oak component. Slash or loblolly pines may be present as well.	Mesic Pine Flatwoods
230	Piedmont Mesic Forest	American Beech - Red Oak - White Oak Forests.	Mesic Mixed Hardwood
383	Piedmont Mixed Successional Forest	Generally loblolly mixed with successional hardwoods. Sweetgum, tulip poplar and red maple are common co-dominants in these successional forests.	No equivalent
228	Piedmont Dry-Mesic Oak and Hardwood Forests	Primarily oak dominated forests, white oak is often dominant, with co-dominants including . Also represented by sweetgum and tulip poplar dominated forests.	Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Basic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest
222	Piedmont Dry-Mesic Pine Forests	Loblolly dominated forests resulting from succession following clearing. This type occurs on all moisture regimes following disturbance with the exception of the extremely xeric sites.	No equivalent
382	Dry Mesic Oak Pine Forests	Mixed forests of the coastal plain and piedmont. Includes loblolly pine with white, southern red and/or post oak and loblolly with water oak. On basic sites of the piedmont, eastern red cedar may co-occur with post, black, and blackjack oaks.	Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Xeric Hard Pan Forest, Chestnut Oak Forest, Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest
21	Coniferous Cultivated Plantation (natural / planted)	Managed pine plantations, densely planted. Most planted stands are loblolly, but slash and longleaf occur as well.	No equivalent
51	Deciduous Cultivated Plantation	Planted deciduous trees. Includes sweetgum and sycamore plantations.	No equivalent
36	Successional Deciduous Forests	Regenerating deciduous trees with a shrub stature. Commonly dominated by sweetgum, tulip poplars and maples.	No equivalent
522	Northern Hardwoods	High Elevation forests including yellow birch, American beech, and yellow buckeye. Includes forests with Hemlock and Yellow Birch.	Northern Hardwoods Forest, Boulderfield Forest
525	Appalachian Oak Forest	A variety of oak forest types including Black, White, Scarlet Oaks in dry to mesic situations. Includes forests historically co-dominated by American Chestnut.	High Elevation Red Oak Forest, Montane White Oak Forest
526	Appalachian Cove Forest	Mixed Mesophytic forests of the mountains. Includes tuliptree, basswood, yellow buckeye and surgar maple. This class is mapped to include cove forests dominated or co-dominated by hemlock.	Rich Cove Forest, Acidic Cove Forest
527	Appalachian Hemlock	Upland hemlock forests of the moutains region. Vary from side slopes to steep slope positions.	Canada Hemlock Forest

View Entire Landcover Legend

Additional Spatial Constraints:

Exclude all area outside of known range.

CITATIONS:

Frisbie, M. P., and R. L. Wyman. 1992. The effect of soil chemistry on sodium balance in the red-backed salamander; a comparison of two forest types. J. Herpetol. 26:434-442.

Wyman, R. L., and J. Jancola. 1992. Degree and scale of terrestrial acidification and amphibian community structure. J. Herpetol. 26:392-401.

Wilson, L. A. 1995. The Land Manager's Guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the South. Chapel Hill, NC: The Nature Conservancy.

Wyman, R. L. 1988. Soil acidity and moisture and the distribution of amphibians in five forests of southcentral New York. Copeia 1988:394-399.

Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Washington DC: Smithsonian Inst. Press.

Smith, P. W. 1963. PLETHODON CINEREUS. Cat. Am. Amph. Rep. 5.1-5.3.

Minton, S. A., Jr. 1972. Amphibians and reptiles of Indiana. Indiana Academy Science Monographs 3. v + 346 pp.

Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.

Martof, B. S., W. M. Palmer, J. R. Bailey, and J. R. Harrison, III. 1980. Amphibians and reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 264 pp.

Vogt, R. G. 1981. Natural history of amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum. 205 pp.

DeGraaf, R. M., and D. D. Rudis. 1983. Amphibians and reptiles of New England. Habitats and natural history. Univ. Massachusetts Press. vii + 83 pp.

Green, N. B., and T. K. Pauley. 1987. Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia. University of Pittsburg Press, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. xi + 241 pp.

10 March 2005

This data was compiled and/or developed by the North Carolina GAP Analysis Project.

For more information please contact them at:
NC-GAP Analysis Project
Dept. of Zoology, NCSU
Campus Box 7617
Raleigh, NC 27695-7617
(919) 513-2853
www.basic.ncsu.edu/ncgap