Spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4

Distribution

The distribution of the spring salamander is restricted to the Appalachian mountain system of eastern North America. It is found in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.  North American distribution of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (after Conant and Collins, 1991).

Figure 2.  North American distribution of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (after Conant and Collins, 1991).

In Canada, the present distribution of the species is restricted to the Appalachian mountains of southern Quebec (Fig. 3). There are two early records for Ontario which have not been confirmed by any subsequent surveys (Cook 1970 and 1977; OHS 1996). For a 1934 record, a larva was collected at Britannia near Ottawa. If G. porphyriticus, it resulted apparently from an introduction (Bleakney 1958; F. R. Cook, pers. comm.). Another record, from 1877, is of three larvae collected from “opposite to Buffalo, New York”, which may correspond to the Niagara region in Welland county. If true, the spring salamander is evidently extirpated from that area and is therefore extirpated from Ontario (Oldham 1996). However, both these Ontario records are of larvae only and their identification as G. porphyriticus may be suspect. Thus, its presence in Ontario has never been proven.

In Quebec (Fig. 3), Gyrinophilus porphyriticus occurs in the Adirondacks at Covey Hill, Huntingdon County), the Appalachians at Pinnacle, Sutton, Foster, Orford, Elephant and Stokes mountains, in several isolated localities at the margin of the Appalachians including the Monteregion Hills of Brome, Shefford and Yamaska, Lake Massawipi, the Smith mountains at Richmond, and Arthabaska County (Weller 1977; Gordon 1979; Shaffer et Bachand 1989; Bonin 1991a; Bider et Matte 1994). The species has not been found further east in the Notre-Dame Mountains and in most of the White Mountains, although further searches may be required. The St. Lawrence lowlands represent the northwestern limit of the species' range in Canada (Bleakney 1958; Bonin 1991a). The Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Quebec databank contains an updated list of records, although some records may need to be verified because they originate from a variety of sources including non-professional herpetologists.

Figure 3.  Canadian distribution of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus.

Figure 3.  Canadian distribution of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus.

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