Jaws are used in aggressive encounters in salamanders (Staub, 1993), and it is evident that biting without tongue protraction is possible. While the standard pattern of feeding in salamanders involves participation of the tongue in apprehending the prey, species such as Pachytriton brevipes, which effectively lacks a tongue pad ( Özetî and Wake, 1969), and other mainly aquatic salamanders feeding on land (Miller and Larsen, 1989) can use jaw prehension, although not very effectively. The action is relatively rapid (on the order of 60 msec) and resembles that of fully metamorphosed ambystomatids that feed underwater without using tongue protraction ( Reilly and Lauder, 1989). Kinematics of the gape profile of salamanders using jaw prehension differs from either the generalized four-part or the specialized three-part pattern of other taxa and consists of a bell-shaped, two-part gape profile. In addition, we have observed the semiaquatic plethodontid Desmognathus quadramaculatus and the hynobiids Salamandrella keyserlingi and Batrachuperus persicus using jaw prehension in water and the fully aquatic plethodontid Desmognathus marmoratus using either tongue or jaw prehension in water (see also Schwenk and Wake, 1993). We have also observed it infrequently in various terrestrial species of the Plethodontidae in circumstances when the tongue fails to apprehend the prey. Use of the jaws to capture prey is unusual in terrestrial salamanders, but it does occur, at least in members of the families Ambystomatidae and Salamandridae ( Larsen and Guthrie, 1975 Miller and Larsen, 1990). Most, if not all, plethodontines show parental care with females attending their eggs until they hatch.ĭAVID B. Other species of Desmognathus have aquatic larvae that undergo metamorphosis. Development is direct in Aneides, Ensatina, Hydromantes, Karsenia, Plethodon, two species of Desmognatus, and Phaeognatus hubrichti. wrighti lives under the forest-floor litter. The former lives in burrows and feeds at the burrow mouth, and D. The large Phaeognathus hubrichti and the smallest species of Desmognathus, D. carolinensis) are more terrestrial, but surface activity and habitat selection is driven by the requirement for high humidity. Embryos and larvae have four pairs of gill slits.īiology: These salamanders are predominantly aquatic, although some species live streamside and forage along the stream or nearby. The cranial and cervical skeleton and musculature have unique features associated with this behavior, including stalked occipital condyles and atlanto-mandibular ligaments. Desmognathus has a unique jaw-opening mechanism in which the lower jaw is held stationary and the skull swings upward. Sister taxon: Clade containing all other plethodontids.Ĭontent: Seven genera, Aneides, Desmognathus, Ensatina, Hydomates, Karsenia, Phaeognathus, and Plethodon, with 98 species.ĭistribution: United States and southern Canada, Mediterranean Europe, and Korean Peninsula.Ĭharacteristics: Tongues are attached to the jaw in most genera and may be either protrusible or projectile. Caldwell, in Herpetology (Fourth Edition), 2014 Plethodontinae Using this photo The thumbnail photo (128x192 pixels) on this page may be freely used for personal or academic purposes without prior permission under the Fair Use provisions of US copyright law as long as the photo is clearly credited with © 2008 Bill Peterman.įor other uses, or if you have questions, contact Bill Peterman © 1995-2022 UC Regents. Click here to review or comment on the identification. The photographer's identification Desmognathus fuscus has not been reviewed.
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