Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Brandon, Ronald A.

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Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyEarth and Planetary Science

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AMPmBIA: CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE31.1GYRINOPHILUSBRANDON,RONALDA. 1967. Gyrinophilus.Catalogueof AmericanAmphibiansand Reptiles,p. 31.GyrinophilwCopeSpring salamandersGyrinophilus Cope, 1869:108-109.Type-speciesSalamandraporphyriticaGreen,1827,by monotypy.PseudotritonTschudi:Grobman,1959:60-63(partim).Grobmansuggestedthis nomenclaturalchange,but its first applica-tionto thegenuswasby Organ(1961); seeCOMMENT.• CONTENT.Two species,the epigeanG. porphyriticusandthe cavernicolousG. palleucus,are recognized.Both are poly-typic. Until recently two additionalspeciesoften were in-cluded; seeREMARKS.• DEFINITION.Branchiateindividuals: Theseplethodontidsof larvalformhaveno ypsiloidcartilage,no anteriorprojectionof thepubis,no lungs,3 epibranchials,a dorsaltail fin notex-tendingonto the body, 18-20 trunk vertebrae(17-19costalgroovesbetweenlimbs), and a singlepremaxillawith nasalprocessesunfusedandwell separated.Fully metamorphosedindividuals: the tongueis free allaround;thepremaxillaeusuallyareseparate(corpusfusedin2% of individuals); a fontanelleexistsbetweenthe unfusednasalprocessesof the premaxillae;a septomaxillais present;the prefrontalsdo not reachthe naresin adults; prevomerineandparavomerinetoothseriesarecontinuous;occipitalcondylesare not stalked; a canthusrostralisis presentand is usuallymarkedby a nonpigmentedline thatextendsfromthe anteriorcornerof the eyeto thenasolabialgroove;5 toesare presenton the hind feet.• DIAGNOSIS.The only genusthat might be confusedwithGyrinophilusis Pseudotriton. In generalbody form Gyrin-ophilus is lessstoutand moreelongate;the snoutis broaderand moretruncate,and in transformedindividualsis markedby a light canthusrostralis (the canthusis presentbut fairlyindistinct in G. porphyriticusduryi). The premaxillais us-ually (98 per centof specimens)separatedinto two bonesinadult Gyrinophilus,and the nasalprocessesof the premaxillaare neverfused.In all adultPseudotriton the premaxillais asingle bone,and the nasalprocessesare fusedmedially (seealsoMartof & Rose,1962).Larvaeof PseudotritonandEuryceaaresimilarto thoseofGyrinophilus.No speciesof Euryceaeast of the MississippiRiverhasmorethan15costalgrooves;no Gyrinophilushassofew. In addition,the larval pigmentationdiffers strikingly:Euryceahas a dorsal doublerow of light spots,or a lightband; Gyrinophilusis unifonulypigmenteddorsally,darklyre-ticulated,or randomlyanddarklydotted.Larvae of Pseudotritonresemblethose of Gyrinophilusrather closely. They overlap somewhatin the number ofcostalgrooves.In Pseudotriton larvaethe nasal processesofthepremaxillaarefused,at leaston largerindividuals.Martof& Rose (1962) reportthat fusion occursbetween26 and 45mm snout-ventlength.The nasalprocessesof the premaxillaare neverfused in Gyrinophilus.Martof & Rose also reportdifferencesin the nasals: Pseudotriton has nasalsthat areaboutas wide as long,neverin contactwith the maxilla,andformed beforemetamorphosis;Gyrinophilushas nasalsthatare greatlyelongated,in broadcontactwith the maxilla,andformed during metamorphosis.All larval PseudotritonandsomeGyrinophilusare fleckedwith black dorsally.The snoutof larvalPseudotritonis roundedandtheeyesarelarge(cornealdiameterentersdistancefrom snouttip to anteriorcorneroftheeyeI-I%, times). The snoutof larvalGyrinophilus,espe-cially those from Tennesseesouthward,is elongate,rathertruncate,andslightlyturnedup at the tip. The eyesare small(cornealdiameterentersdistancefrom snouttip to anteriorcornerof the eye1%-3% times). Cornealdiameterof larvaevariesgeographicallyin Gyrinophilusand is smallestin indi-vidualsfrom the southernAppalachianMountains,largestinthosefrom New Englandand Canada(seeBrandon,1966).• DESCRIPTIONS.These are moderatelylarge salamanders(about220mm maximumtotal length) with elongate(18-20trunk vertebrae),fairly stoutbodies.No sexualdimorphismisapparentexceptin thereproductivetractandtheinnercontourof the vent.Adult maleshaveno mentalgland.Considerablegeographicand ontogeneticvariationis presentin color andpattern (see speciesaccounts).• ILLUSTRATIONS.See accountsof G. palleucus and G.porphyriticus.• DISTRIBUTION.The genusoccurson the Appalachianup-lift of theeasternUnitedStatesandadjacentCanada.It rangesnorthwardto westernMaine and southernQuebec,westwardinto areasadjoiningthe Appalachianuplift from Cincinnati,Ohio, to northeasternMississippi,and southwardto the Fallline in Alabama,andnearlyto theFall Line in SouthCarolinaand Georgia.• FOSSILRECORD.None.• PERTINENTLITERATURE.Of morethan100publicationsthatcontainsomementionof Gyrinophilus,mostmerelyreporton itsdistribution. General surveysof distribution are found inDunn (1926),Bishop (1943),and Conant (1958).The genusis monographedby Brandon (1966).• KEY TO SPECIES.1. Larval form,externalgills present...m_m_ mmn_n __ n •• __ •••m. 2- Metamorphosed,no externalgills 'hnmmmn G. porphyriticus2. Distancefrom anteriorcornerof eyetosnouttip 4-5timesdiameterof eye _.n. n. G. palleucus- Distancefrom anteriorcornerof eyetosnouttip 1%-3% timesdiameterof eye....G. porphyriticus• REMARKS. Two additionalspecieshavebeenincludedinthe genusGyrinophilusuntil recently: G. lutescensand G.danielsi.The nameGyrinophiluslutescenswasappliedby Mit-tleman (1942) to specimenshe consideredto representaneotenic,cave·adaptedspecies.The specimensactually arelarvalG. porphyriticusduryi (seeBrandon,1963).G. danielsiis notconsidereda separatespeciesby Brandon(1966),but itssubspeciesare geographicracesof G. porphyriticus.There isconsiderableevidenceof intergradationbetweenwhat wereformerlyconsideredthesubspeciesof G. danielsiand thoseofG. porphyriticus.The name Gyrinophiluswarneri appearedin print un-accompaniedby a description(Sinclair, 1953,1955); it is anomennudumandis basedon specimensof Pseudotriton.• ETYMOLOGY.ThenameGyrinophilus,to juqgefromCope'soriginaldiscussion,alludesto the fact that thesesalamandersspend severalyears as larvae. It derives from the Greek.-.-"-,,,,i,i ,..!e.•. , .. "i••...J S-·,,·,.,r..,-.-•...-.-.-,.,,,IMAP. Distributionof thegenusGyrinophilus.Questionmarksindicatedoubtfullocalities.gyrinos,signifying"tadpole,"and the Greekphilo,signifying"loving or fond of."Grrinophilusis of masculinegender.COMMENTGrohman (1959) suggestedthat Grrinophilus shouldhe in-cluded in the genusPseudotriton,and severalauthorshavefollowedthis nomenclaturalchange.Otherworkers(Lazell &Brandon,1962;Martof & Rose,1962;Brandon,1966)regardGrrinophilusas nomenclaturallydistinct.The argumentspri-marily relateto detailsof ontogeneticdevelopmentand adultvariationin cranialtraits.Grohman'ssuggestionwashasedonontogeneticchangesin certain cranial elements.Lazell &Brandonwerenot satisfiedthatGrohmanpresenteda convinc-ing casefor thesuggestedchange.Martof & Rosethoughtthat,on thehasisof morphological,ontogenetic,andecologicalcon-siderations,Grrinophilus is hest assignedgenericstatus.Seecitedpapersfor detailedargumentsin favorof eacharrange-ment.LITERATURECITEDBishop, ShermanC. 1943. Handbookof salamanders:thesalamandersof theUnited States,of Canada,andof LowerCalifornia.ComstockPubl. Co., Ithaca,New York. xiv +555pp.Brandon,RonaldA. 1963. Triturus (Grrinophilus) lutescensRafinesque,1832(Amphibia,Caudata): proposedsuppres-sion under the plenary powers.Bull. Zool. Nomen.,20:210-211.- 1966. Systematicsof the salamandergenusGrrinophilus.Illinois BioI. Monogr.,35:1-86.Conant,Roger. 1958. A field guideto reptilesand amphib-ians of the United Statesand Canadaeastof the l00thmeridian.HoughtonMifflin Co., Boston.xviii +366pp.,40pIs.31.2Cope,E[dwardlD. 1869. A reviewof thespeciesof thePleth-odontidaeand Desmognathidae.Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.Philadelphia,21:93-118.Dunn,EmmettR. 1926. The salamandersof the family Ple-thodontidae.Smith College50thAnniversaryPubl., North-ampton,Massachusetts.viii +441pp.Green, Jacob. 1827. An accountof somenew speciesofsalamanders.Contrib. Maclurian LyceumArts and Sci.,1(1):3-8.Grohman,Arnold B. 1959. The anteriorcranial elementsofthe salamandersPseudotritonand Grrinophilus. Copeia,1959:60-63.Lazell, James D., Jr., & Ronald A. Brandon. 1962. A newstygiansalamanderfrom thesouthernCumberlandPlateau.Copeia,1962:300-306.Martof, BernardS., & Francis 1..Rose. 1962. The compara-tive osteologyof the anteriorcranial elementsof the sala-mandersGrrinophilusand Pseudotriton.Copeia,1962:727-732.Mittleman,M. B. 1942. Noteson salamandersof the genusGrrinophilus.Proc. New England Zool. Club, 20:25-42.Organ, James A. 1961. The eggsand youngof the springsalamander,Pseudotritonporphrriticus.Herpetologica,17:53-56.Sinclair, Ralph M. 1953. Somenoteworthyrecordsof Ten-nesseesalamanders.Jour. TennesseeAcad. Sci., 28(2):137.- 1955. Larval developmentof Grrinophilus wameri. Ibid.,30(2):133.R. A. BRANDON,SOUTHERNILLINOISUNIVERSITY,CARBONDALE,ILLINOIS 62901.Issued17March 1967.Primaryeditorfor this account,JamesD. Anderson. Puhlication is supportedby National ScienceFoundationgrantG24231.AmericanSocietyof Ichthyologistsand Herpetologists.

Gyrinophilus

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Gyrinophilus

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