Plethodon yonahlossee, as I prefer to call it, is a member of the Lungless Salamander family Plethodontidae. This species is a large bodied salamander that frequents rocky north facing slopes, and can be seen in fairly high abundance under the right conditions (i.e., rainy). I have observed this species a number of times, and my first encounter was in 2008 with my former boss Phil Bradley. At that time our mission was to collection five specimens for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to provide exhibit and back-up exhibit specimens. We very easily saw well over 100 specimens in two nights (short nights) of searching.
Well, fast forward to the end of last month (July, 2012) when a good friend of mine and fellow herp enthusiast Mike Martin reached out to me about needing to 'get out of the office' and reiterated that he has always wanted to see and photograph a Yonahlossee Salamander. "Well Mike, I know a place", I replied. And, on that first weekend of August (2012) we ventured out with a set of salamander targets to observe and photograph - first on the list, Yonahlossee.
We got to the spot before sunset but flipped a few young specimens with little effort. Adrian, another fellow herp enthusiast joined us for the night. The conditions were particularly dry, which is not really ideal per se. Although we ended up seen a fair number, the adults were impossible to catch due to their reluctance to venture out of their underground crevices under such dry conditions. But, we saw several White Spotted Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon cylindraceus) out moving, as well as, a number of Blue Ridge Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus orestes) and one Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola) - these three species are common species in this particular area. As the night hunt was ending Mike, Adrian, and I headed to a stream culvert where I knew Black-bellied Salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) occur. As I started looking around the culverts I saw our first "hands-on" adult Yonahlossee of the night - unfortunately this specimen sported an injured tail. It was somewhat surprising to see a Yonahlossee in that spot, so close to the running water. But at last, we all got to photograph an adult specimen! For Mike, his first.
On the way to the campsite we pulled over at a random trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway where we observed two more species for the night: the Blue Ridge Two-Lined (Eurycea wilderae) and Northern Gray-cheeked (Plethodon montanus) salamanders. Both species represented lifers for Mike. (A 'lifer' is defined as the first time one has observed that particular species. Some (including me) compile a 'life list', listed often in taxanomic order, consisting of all the reptiles and amphibians one has encountered in their life. Birders are perhaps the first group of naturalists to coin these terms.) At this point we called it a night, it was late and we needed to find a camp ground. Oh, and of course once we declared this the rain started to pour! Ha! Still beats sleeping in a bed falling asleep to the TV.
We broke camp and made for our next target, the Weller's Salamander (Plethodon welleri). This time I had never previously seen this species and knew only of a couple mountains were it was found - no precise spots to look for them. After using some aerial maps, I had a pretty good idea where to go poke around. As we drove up the mountain all we saw was house after house, after house. Once we reached the top I saw Adrian shake his head as if telling me to head back down, this place is terrible. But we had not reached the spot I had set out for and I wasn't going to just leave before looking around. It didn't take long to find the spot and in extremely short order (first flip) we turned up two Weller's Salamanders. At the spot we totaled ~20 Weller's Salamanders (very productive), 1 young Yonahlossee Salamander, ~6 or so Northern Gray-cheeked Salamander, and several Blue Ridge Dusky Salamanders. Weller's was a lifer for Mike and I, while Adrian had observed it at its type locality years prior. Needless to say we were all stoked about the productivity of this spot and how this short trip was panning out. Adrian then parted Mike and I to try his luck as some trout fishing on his way home.
Mike and I crossed into Tennessee to try a rumored spot for Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), the largest New World Salamander. Hellbenders are a fully aquatic species endemic to the eastern United States that feed primarily on crayfish and are found in larger Appalachian streams. Needless to say, after driving for a couple hours and hiking a hell of a hillside we ended up with only a sub-adult Black Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta), no Hellbenders. But, that is herping - it doesn't always pan out. We then went back the Yonahlossee spot we visited our first night. We turned up several more Yonahlossee Salamanders, a couple of large adults, as well as the usual species for the area.
The next morning we headed out to visit our buddy Joe in Sparta, NC. On our way to his house Mike said, "Man, you know what Joe is going to make us do first thing....alcohol". He couldn't have been more right, immediately upon saying hello Mike and I were taking shots, oh Joe! Joe lives in a nice two story house secluded in the woods, his driveway is a small bridge. He lives here with his wife Ashley and as one looks around his property you see machetes, bee hives, targets, knives, and various outdoor gear. His office consists of 1 part typical office stuff (computer, desk, books, etc), 1 part outdoor gear (he reviews for magazines), and 100 parts knives and machetes. I mean, yeah.
Well, seeing how Mike has never seen a Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata) and I have never seen one in North Carolina - that was our first set of business. At Joe's bridge we took a look and quickly spotted a big ole' girl basking about 3 feet above the water - it dove, Mike made the grab. She was a gravid female and by her looks, she was going to pop (birth) soon. Joe and I spotted another individual but it dipped into thick brush before either of us could plan an attack. That night Joe, Mike, and I set out to road cruise in the rain. We saw many of the usual suspects. Mike would brake, shout the species, and hit the gas. He was really hoping for a Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) or a Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber). We did not get either of those species that night, but we did get another adult Yonahlossee Salamander - a somewhat unexpected find and a new locality for me.
The next morning we looked in the Queen Snake bag and saw she had dropped her litter, a total of 14 neonates. It was neat to see all those tiny young ones. After a quick photography session of the previous night's salamanders and the Queen Snakes - Mike and I were reluctantly ready to leave. It was great to see Joe and Ashley again and, for me, get my lifer Weller's Salamander. The trip was a success, we found all of our targets with the exception of the Hellbender, always next time - right?!
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