Plethodon jordani
Appalachian salamander
(Also: Jordan's salamander)

Plethodon jordani ranges from southwestern Virginia to extreme northeastern Georgia. Plethodon jordani has been collected from elevations of 213 to 1951 m, but populations are usually constrained to elevations above 600 m. (Petranka, 1998)

Plethodon jordani is restricted to cool, mesic forests. Jordan's salamanders are found in areas with high annual precipitation from deep mountain gorges to the ridgeline in suitable habitat. Populations occur at their lowest elevations in the southern portions of their range. Individuals are most often found on the forest floor during the night when they emerge to forage, they are sometimes found under logs and rocks during the day, although they mostly remain underground when not foraging. Jordan's salamanders are most abundant in red spruce (Picea rubens) - Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) forest but are also found on hardwood-covered ridges. The forest floor where this species is most abundant is covered with a heavy layer of moss with only a little soil over a mass of large boulders. (Petranka, 1998; Stupka and Huheey, 1967)

Plethodon jordani is a large species of Plethodon that varies in color according to locality. The dorsal color varies from slate gray to bluish black and the back usually lacks both red pigments and white spots. Depending on geographic location, the adults may be unmarked or have red cheeks (Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee), red legs (Nantahala and Tusquitee mountains and on Cheoah Mountain, North Carolina), reddish frosting on the back (extreme northwestern South Carolina and on Fishhawk Mountain, North Carolina), or gold frosting on the back in the southernmost part of their range. Jordan's salamanders have sixteen costal grooves. Adults average 12.5 cm in total length. (Conant and Collins, 1998)

Nests of Plethodon jordani have never been found. Gravid females move underground in late spring or early summer and oviposit in deep underground recesses. Females oviposit in May and hatching usually occurs in late summer or early autumn, about 2 to 3 months after the eggs were deposited. Newborns remain underground for 10 to 12 months after hatching. Metamorphosis occurs before hatching, so individuals emerge from eggs in small adult form, there is no aquatic larval stage. Small individuals judged to be nearly 1 year old first appear on the surface in May or June. Individuals increase by an average of 12 mm (snouth-vent length) between May and October of their second year. (Adams, 2004; Stupka and Huheey, 1967)

Plethodon jordani has a mean generation time of 9.8 years, with 77% surviving to 10 years old. (Goin and Goin, 1962)

Plethodon jordani is a solitary species active during moist weather. Plethodon salamanders in general are mostly found in moist areas. Plethodon jordani tends to move to areas where moisture is the greatest within its preferred habitat. (Dunn, 1926)

Home Range

In a study discussed by Petranka (1998), Plethodon salamanders were studied to determine home range and territory size. In the study the maximum distance moved for males was 120.4 meters and 60.6 meters for females. Plethodon jordani is an exceptionally philopatric species of Plethodon and home range sizes may be only a few square meters. (Petranka, 1998)

The most common form of communication for Plethodon jordani is the use of pheromones. These chemicals play a key role in courtship behaviors and the act of mating. (Martof et al., 1980; Petranka, 1998)

Both male and female salamanders eat the same type and size of prey. On dry nights the majority of individuals will forage on vegetation, whereas, on wet nights, they will roam the forest floor in search of invertebrate prey. Food items in 204 specimens from the Great Smoky Mountains included annelids, snails, millipedes, centipedes, isopods, phalangids, pseudoscorpions, mites, spiders, and a variety of insects. Millipedes are more important during the spring and insect larvae are more important during the fall. Collembolans and annelids tend to increase in importance in higher altitudes. In a study performed by Whitaker and Rubin (1971), the 10 most important prey by volume were: ants, spiders, lepidopteran larvae, beetle larvae, collembolans, millipedes, centipedes, mites, snails, and dipteran larvae. (Conant and Collins, 1998)

Common garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) are the largest threats to Plethodon salamanders. The first defense mechanism of Jordan’s salamanders is the bright red cheeks or legs possessed by some individuals. This aposematic coloration is a warning sign to predators. Snake predation upon Plethodon salamanders also elicits other behaviors, including writhing and thrashing movements that coat the predator with slimy secretions, tail autotomy (tail loss), and biting. Bennett and Licht (1974) suggested that the particular antipredator behaviors of amphibian species are correlated with the extent of anaerobiosis during a burst of activity. According to a study by Arnold and Feder (1982), predatory encounters are especially suitable for demonstration of anaerobiosis during spontaneous natural activity, if it does occur. In one trial conducted by Arnold and Feder (1982), a Jordan's salamander escaped the snake by producing thick secretions which actually glued the snake to the substrate (rendering it immobile). Predatory birds are also likely to be important predators of Jordan's salamanders, especially at higher elevations where there are fewer garter snakes. (Arnold and Feder, 1982)

Hairston et al. (1956) conducted a series of studies on interspecific relationships between P. jordani and P. oconaluftee in the southern Appalachians. In all the studies, the researchers found that the removal of P. jordani caused an increase in P. ocanaluftee. Removal of P. ocanaluftee did not affect P. jordani but did increase the proportion of juveniles in the population. Hairston et al. concluded that competition did exist between the two species but they could not conclude which resource they were competing for. (Hairston, 1956; Petranka, 1998)

There are no known adverse effects of Plethodon jordani on humans.

There is no known benefit provided to humans from Plethodon jordani

Populations of Plethodon jordani and other salamanders are often absent or greatly reduced in number on recent clear-cuts in western North Carolina. Less intensive harvesting practices that leave the basic structure of the forest intact would benefit this and other salamander species in southern Appalachian forests. (Mitchell and Reay, 1999; Petranka, 1998)

Highton (2005) noted significant decline (>40%) across the range of Plethodon. Logging roads, even those no longer in use, have been shown to negatively affect Plethodon abundance. (Highton, 2005; Rittenhouse and Semlitsch, 2006)

There are disagreements in the literature with species and subspecies distinctions. According to the latest data, color variation and geographic location are the two main factors in determining the species identification of a particular salamander. There are disagreements in the literature with species and subspecies distinctions. (Adams, 2004; Petranka, 1998)

The Plethodon jordani complex was recently recognized by Highton and Peabody (2000), which contains 7 species (P. jordani, P. metcalfi, P. shermani, P. cheoah, P. amplus, P. meridianus, and P. montanus). The splitting of P. jordani appears to be gaining acceptance. (Center for North American Herpetology, 2008)