Georgia Wildlife Federation

Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), or Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS), ensures that we protect wildlife and the habitat it needs to survive. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with the help of many caring organizations such as the Georgia Wildlife Federation, created this strategic plan to counter the threats to wildlife -- animals and plants -- as population grows and development or land conversion occurs.

Among the objectives of the plan is "'keeping common species common' as well as preventing or minimizing further extirpation or extinction of the more imperiled species."
One diminutive species of interest is the Pigeon Mountain Salamander, discovered in 1972. John Jensen, Wildlife Biologist for the Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program of the DNR, profiled this reclusive amphibian for an issue of the Georgia Wildlife Federation's Southern Wildlife. — Ed. Note.

Located in the extreme northwestern corner of Georgia, a spur of Lookout Mountain known separately as Pigeon Mountain rises 1,600 feet above the surrounding valleys and 2,300 feet above sea level. It is only on this mountain that the Pigeon Mountain salamander, Plethodon petraeus, is found.

This four- to seven-inch long salamander looks similar to the more widespread slimy salamander, but has an irregularly-bordered, reddish-brown patch on its back. In addition, Pigeon Mountain salamanders have long toes, tipped with expanded pads. This latter feature is an adaptation for ease of locomotion on the rocky ledges where it climbs about in search of invertebrate prey items during warm, moist evenings.

The Pigeon Mountain salamander belongs to the "lungless" salamander family, Plethodontidae. Amphibians as a whole have three methods of breathing: with lungs, with gills and through their skin (cutaneously). Most amphibians employ a combination of these breathing processes; however, Pigeon Mountain salamanders and other members of its family breathe exclusively through their skin.

Despite the Pigeon Mountain salamander's uniqueness and the interest it has drawn from biologists, virtually nothing is known about its natural history. It is assumed that they lay eggs on land which later hatch into miniature replicas of the adults, like other members of their genus, but it's not known for sure. Similarly, nothing is known about courtship behaviors, natural population sizes, sex ratios, primary predators, primary prey, etc.

It is known, however, that Pigeon Mountain salamanders will often forage widely about the rocky slopes, but they are most commonly viewed in the twilight of limestone caves.

Surprisingly, mountain-specific salamander species are not that unusual. Species with small natural ranges are inherently vulnerable to extinction from localized natural or human impacts on the environment, and for this reason the Pigeon Mountain salamander is protected in Georgia as a rare species.