The spotted dusky salamander (''Desmognathus conanti'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States.

Taxonomy

''Desmognathus conanti'' was described in 1958 by

Douglas A. Rossman Douglas Athon "Dag" Rossman (July 4, 1936 – July 23, 2015) was a U.S. herpetologist specializing in garter snakes. He studied at the University of Florida, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1961.

, but was later reclassified as a subspecies of the northern dusky salamander (''D. fuscus''). However, numerous genetic and morphological studies since then have affirmed it as being a distinct species. In addition, genetic studies indicate that ''D. conanti'' is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

with respect to the Santeetlah dusky salamander (''D. santeelah''), which lies nested within it; thus, ''D. conanti'' itself likely represents a species complex of multiple undescribed

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Distribution

''Desmognathus conanti'' has a wide range in the southeastern and south-central United States, ranging from southern Illinois south to the

panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

of Florida, and west to Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

Description

''Desmognathus conanti'' is a moderately stout salamander with a moderately keeled tail. It has several pairs of golden spots on the dorsum that may sometimes fuse to form a light dorsal stripe in adults. The belly is light with dark flecks. It closely resembles ''D. fuscus'' and ''D. santeetlah'', and is thus best distinguished from them by range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3024505 conanti Amphibians of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States Amphibians described in 1958 Taxa named by Douglas A. Rossman