Plethodon punctatus Highton 1972

Felix, Zachary I., Wooten, Jessica A., Pierson, Todd W. & Camp, Carlos D., 2019, Re-evaluation of the Wehrle’s salamander (Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn) species group (Caudata: Plethodontidae) using genomic data, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4609 (3), pp. 429-448 : 438-439

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4609.3.2
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FD86F28B-E6DD-49BF-AA52-7D224FDF3B9D
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F93FC243-FFD9-9D2B-4BD3-F905FABBFF7D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Plethodon punctatus Highton 1972
status

Treatment

Plethodon punctatus Highton 1972 View in CoL

English name: Cow Knob salamander, Crother et al. 2017; white-spotted salamander, Highton 1988, Petranka 1998

Holotype: United States National Museum of Natural History ( USNM) 190224

Type Locality: Cow Knob, Pendleton County, West Virginia.

Remarks: Plethodon punctatus has long been regarded as a distinct species because it is morphologically distinguishable from P. wehrlei , although their close relationship has been recognized. Our analyses corroborate Kuchta et al. (2018) as well as other, more limited analyses ( Highton & Larson 1979; Graham 2007; Highton et al.

2012), all of which suggests P. punctatus ’ genetic distinctiveness. This species occurs in the higher elevations of the Ridge and Valley ecoregion, mainly on Shenandoah and North Mountains of West Virginia and Virginia.