Amphibians of North Carolina
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NC Records

Eurycea guttolineata - Three-lined Salamander


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Taxonomy
Class: Amphibia Order: Caudata Family: Plethodontidae Subfamily: Spelerpinae
Taxonomic Comments: Eurycea longicauda and E. guttolineata were at one time treated as members of a single polytypic species with three subspecies. These include the Dark-sided Salamander (E. l. melanopleura) that is associated with the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, the Long-tailed Salamander (E. l. longicauda) that is found from New York southwestward to Kentucky, Tennessee, and the southern Appalachian region, and the Three-lined Salamander (E. l. guttolineata) that is primarily found in non-mountainous regions in the Southeast. The taxonomic status of Eurycea l. longicauda and E. l. guttolineata have been debated because the two subspecies come into close contact in scattered populations in the southern Appalachians with little evidence of interbreeding (Ireland 1979). The high peaks of the Appalachian Mountains form a natural barrier between E. l. longicauda to the west and E. l. guttolineata to the east. Near the southern extremity of the Appalachians this barrier disappears, and a broad zone of intergradation was reported to occur in northwestern Georgia and northern Alabama that continues northwestward (Mount 1975, Valentine 1962). Subsequent molecular studies of populations in this region by Carlin (1997) revealed that they are distinct species that do not interbreed. Specimens that were thought to be intergrades were found to fall within the range of variation seen within the two species and show no evidence of being hybrids. As currently recognized, E. longicauda contains two subspecies that intergrade in Missouri, and E. guttolineata constitutes a separate species.
Species Comments:
Identification
Description: The Three-lined Salamander is a large Eurycea with a conspicuously long tail. The tail becomes proportionately longer relative to body length as juveniles grow, and often comprises 60-65% of the total length of adults. This species has a dark mid-dorsal stripe that bisects a yellowish orange to yellowish brown dorsum and terminates near the base of the tail. A pronounced blackish stripe occurs along each side of the body that is often infused or mottled to varying degrees with irregular yellow or whitish spots. An irregular, thin whitish stripe is often present below the dark stripe. The dark stripe continues onto the tail where it tends to change into a series of vertical bands that are fused to varying degrees. The belly and underside of the tail are boldly mottled with numerous greenish gray to black and white blotches.

Adults vary from 10-18 cm TL and there are typically 13 or 14 costal grooves. Sexually active males have prominent cirri, swollen cloacae, papillose cloacal lips (smooth in females), hedonic glands on the tail, a round mental gland, and elongated maxillary teeth (Niemiller and Reynolds 2011, Petranka 1988). Females also have nasal cirri, but they are far less developed than those of males.

The hatchlings average around 10-12 mm SVL and 17-19 mm TL. The dorsum is uniformly cream colored and contrast sharply with the immaculate belly. Larvae are the stream-type with streamlined bodies and a fin that is restricted to the tail. The gills are typically short but conspicuous, but can be more elongated in specimens collected from sluggish or standing water. As larvae mature they gradually develop a color pattern that tends towards that of the adults. Within 1-2 months after hatching, larvae develop a dark broad band or heavy dark mottling on either side of the body, and a more narrow and less conspicuous mid-dorsal stripe. Recently transformed animals have black sides, a dark chin, and an olive-gray dorsum. They typically develop the adult pattern within 2-3 months after metamorphosing. Long-tailed Salamander larvae lack the conspicuous paired light spots on the dorsum that are characteristic of members of the E. bislineata complex, including E. wilderae.
Online Photos:    Google   iNaturalist
AmphibiaWeb Account
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution Comments: This species is mostly found in the southeastern US from northern Virginia southward through portions of extreme eastern Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the western Florida Panhandle. From there the range extends westward through most of Alabama and Mississippi to southeastern Louisiana, and northward through western Tennessee to extreme western Kentucky. Populations in North Carolina occur from the lower elevations in the mountains eastward through the Piedmont, then narrowly into the Coastal Plain where we have only a few county records.
Distribution Reference: Beane et al. (2010); Carlin (1997); Petranka (1998)
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
GBIF Global Distribution
Key Habitat Requirements
Habitat: The juveniles and adults are most frequently found under rocks, logs, flood debris, and other surface cover in bottomland or floodplain forests. Individuals are usually found in close vicinity to seepages, ravine spring heads, marshes, swamps, seasonal ponds, and lower-order streams that serve as breeding sites. In North Carolina, populations in the mountains are usually found below 900 m (3000') in elevation. They most commonly occur in wetlands in the floodplains of larger streams and rivers where they breed in vernal ponds, bogs, marshes, and small sluggish tributary streams that often have vegetated shallows (Freeman and Bruce 2001). They also can be found in small, low-elevation streams and springs outside of the larger floodplains. Populations in the Piedmont frequent bottomlands and floodplains with creeks, small streams, seepages and other breeding sites. In addition to using bottomland or floodplain forests, the Three-lined Salamander has been found around the twilight zone and in deeper portions of limestone caves in Mississippi (Himes et al. 2004).
See also Habitat Account for Wet-Mesic Forests with Seepages/Headwater Streams
Life History and Autecology
Reproductive Mode: The adults move to aquatic breeding sites in the autumn where they presumably court and mate shortly before the females begin laying eggs. Courtship has not been described for this species and the eggs have only rarely been observed. This suggests that females typically oviposit in cryptic microhabitats such as the dark, subsurface portions of streams or seepages (Petranka 1998). Larvae have also been found in caves in Mississippi (Himes et al. 2004).

Mount (1975) found several adults and eggs in early December in a covered reservoir in a shallow spring in Alabama. The eggs were attached singly in groups of 8-14 to the sides of the concrete cylinder and were 5-25 cm below the water surface. Developmental stages varied from early to about midway to hatching. Bruce (1970) found late-term eggs and hatchlings in western North Carolina in early to mid-March. The eggs were scattered on the bottom of a cistern, and may have been dislodged during a recent cleaning of the cistern. Egg-laying in North Carolina appears to occur in late-autumn, with hatching occurring in late winter or early spring (Bruce 1970, Freeman and Bruce 2001). Because the eggs are scattered widely, females presumably do not exhibit parental care.
Aquatic Life History: The larval stage is often relatively brief and in most populations lasts less than 6 months. The growth of hatchlings accelerates with the spring warm-up and most individuals metamorphose during the warmer months of their first year of life. Bruce (1970, 1982a) collected metamorphosing larvae from June through August at sites in western North Carolina. The length of the larval period in most populations was estimated to be 3.5-5.5 months, with the average size at metamorphosis varying from 22-27 mm SVL. A few larvae in one population overwintered and transformed the following June when 30-32 mm SVL.

In a related study, Freeman and Bruce (2001) studied four populations in the Chattooga River watershed of southwestern North Carolina and adjoining areas of Georgia and South Carolina. These included two relatively low elevation sites in South Carolina and Georgia, and two higher elevation sites in North Carolina. Most larvae in these populations appeared to hatch in March. Many of the larvae at the higher elevation sites overwintered and metamorphosed about 14-15 months after hatching. All larvae at one lower elevation site metamorphosed after a larval period of 5-6 months. At a second lower-elevation site most transformed after 5-6 months, but a small proportion overwintered and transformed the following spring. Average water temperatures at these sites were all similar, and the shorter larval periods at the lower-elevational sites may reflect the fact that they were less reliably perennial. Based on the size of mature larvae in these populations, transformation appeared to occur when larvae reached 25-30 mm SVL. Martof (1955) found metamorphosing larvae in northern Georgia from the middle of May to the end of August.
Terrestrial Life History: The juveniles and adults are frequently found in close vicinity to aquatic sites, and it is uncertain to what extent they undergo seasonal movements to and from forested sites to aquatic sites. Like most eastern plethodontids, Three-lined Salamanders hide beneath litter, logs, or other cover during the day and emerge on humid or rainy nights to search for prey (Petranka 1998). Adults are most active during the first few hours after dark and feed on a wide variety of invertebrates. Arachnids, beetles, flies, ants, and orthopterans were the major prey of Florida specimens that were examined by Tinkle (1952). The smallest sexually mature males and females of E. guttolineata from Florida were 43 and 46 mm SVL, respectively (Gordon 1953). The juveniles probably take two years to become sexually mature based on studies of the closely related E. longicauda, but more information is needed on this aspect of the life history.
General Ecology
Adverse Environmental Impacts
Status in North Carolina
NHP State Rank: S5
Global Rank: G5

Photo Gallery for Eurycea guttolineata - Three-lined Salamander

11 photos are shown.

Recorded by: J. Perry
Stokes Co.		Recorded by: Robert Deans
Beaufort Co.
Recorded by: Rob Van Epps
Mecklenburg Co.		Recorded by: Russel James & Jacob Brown
Cumberland Co.
Recorded by: Russel James & Jacob Brown
Cumberland Co.		Recorded by: Russel James & Jacob Brown
Cumberland Co.
Recorded by: Owen McConnell
Durham Co.		Recorded by: Steve Hall and Harry LeGrand
Vance Co.
Recorded by: Steve Hall and Harry LeGrand
Vance Co.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka
Buncombe Co.
Recorded by: Jim Petranka
Buncombe Co.
Comment: Note the nasal cirrus and nasolabial groove on this specimen.