The Ouachita dusky salamander (''Desmognathus brimleyorum'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the states of Arkansas and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in the United States. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is in honor of

Herbert Hutchinson Brimley Herbert Hutchinson BrimleyCooper, John E. 1979. The Brothers Brimley: North Carolina Naturalists. Brimleyana No. 1:1-14 (7 March 1861 – 4 April 1946) was a self-trained zoologist and long-time director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sc ...

and his younger brother,

Clement Samuel Brimley Clement Samuel Brimley (18 December 1863 – 23 July 1946) was a self-trained zoologist who worked at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. His brother, H.H. Brimley, was a zoologist and long-time director of the same museum. Both Briml ...

, both of whom were zoologists.

Description

The Ouachita dusky salamander grows to about in length including a finned tail. The upper side is greenish-brown or grey of a fairly uniform colour and the juveniles have a row of pale spots along each side. There are fourteen costal rib grooves on either side.

Distribution and habitat

The Ouachita dusky salamander occurs in mountainous areas of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Its range includes the Ouachita Mountains,

Petit Jean Mountain Petit Jean State Park is a park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located atop Petit Jean Mountain adjacent to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozark Platea ...

, Rich Mountain, the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area, the Black Fork Mountain Wilderness, the Kiamichi Mountains and the Potato Hills north of

Tuskahoma Tuskahoma is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, four miles east of Clayton. It was the former seat of the Choctaw Nation government prior to Oklahoma statehood. The popu ...

. They live in and near mountain streams and the ravines and woodland close by, on scree slopes, in gravelly areas, on islands and near springs.

Biology

Breeding takes place mainly between July and September. The female deposits twenty to thirty eggs in a grape-like cluster under rocks or in mud chambers usually on land. She broods them until they hatch and then the larvae make their way to water. At first they conceal themselves in the gaps between stones and debris on the streambed. They are carnivorous and overwinter as larvae, undergoing

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

the following summer.

Status

In the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

, ''Desmognathus brimleyorum'' is listed as being of " Least concern". There may be a slow decline in numbers but these have not been quantified and there are thought to be more than 10,000 individuals across its range. The greatest threat is the silting up of the streams where it breeds due to logging activities, but when the streams recover, the salamanders move back into the area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1594258 Desmognathus Endemic amphibians of the United States Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Natural history of Arkansas Natural history of Oklahoma Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1895