Southern Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon ventralis)

Created: March 12th, 2010 - 04:43 PM
Last Modified: October 18th, 2010 - 06:33 PM Entered by: Corey Raimond
Record 39741

Country: United States		State: Georgia	County: Walker County	Time: 2010-03-11 15:00:00
Qty: 1	Age: Adult	Sex: --	Method: Visual encounter	Habitat: Wooded mesic hillside where it meets wet vertical rock wall
Body Temperature: -----		Air Temperature: 57.00F	Ground Temperature: -----	Humidity: 89%
Sky Conditions: Drizzle		Moon Phase: -----	Elevation: -----	Barometric Pressure: -----

Notes

Observed walking on forest floor on a foggy/misty day.

Vouchers

Comments

Posted by Todd Pierson on Oct 12, 2010 at 07:57 PM

Both species can exhibit "leadback" phases, and I think costal grooves can be used to distinguish the two, but those orange armpits are usually a good give-away. I've seen a handful of ventralis at Pigeon, but never serratus, unfortunately.

Posted by Corey Raimond on Oct 12, 2010 at 07:06 PM

Interesting the field guide I used must be out of date. Thanks for the insight!

Posted by Todd Pierson on Oct 12, 2010 at 04:31 PM

What characteristics did you use to identify these two as P. serratus?

The orange armpits are characteristic of P. ventralis, also present on Pigeon Mountain.