Three-lined salamander

Three-lined salamander
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Plethodontidae
Genus:	Eurycea
Species:	E. guttolineata
Binomial name
Eurycea guttolineata (Holbrook, 1838)
Synonyms
Salamandra gutto-lineata Holbrook, 1838

The three-lined salamander (Eurycea guttolineata) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the south-eastern United States.

Description

Eurycea guttolineata is a mid-sized, slender stream salamander which ranges from about 10-15.9 cm in its adult form. It is tan to light yellow with three black longitudinal stripes running from the eyes down the length of the body to the tail. The tail is very long at approximately two-thirds its total body length. Additionally, the ventrum (belly) of the three-lined salamander is boldly marked with black and white marbling.

Reproduction

Hatchlings are generally around 10-13 mm and undergo metamorphosis when they are 22-27 mm snout-to-vent length. This is typically a 4-6 month larval stage. The effects that elevation has on larval stages have been studied extensively showing that at lower elevations larvae metamorphosized sooner than those at higher elevations which had delayed metamorphosis mostly due to overwintering.

Distribution

The species is distributed throughout much of the southeastern United States. It can be found in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and Tennessee south through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, including eastern Louisiana and western Florida.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are forested floodplains, ditches, streamsides, and seepages. With wet weather, the species may enter wooded terrestrial habitats.

It is not uncommon in suitable habitat. Some subpopulations have likely been extirpated by loss of bottomland hardwood forests.