RED HILLS SALAMANDER 



Phaeoffiatbus hubrichti High ton 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Amphibia 



ORDER Caudata 



FAMILY Plethodontidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES Hubricht's salamander, 



Alabama red hills salamander. 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS to be determined 



Updates 23 July 1977,31 March 1978 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Threatened (41 FR 53032-53034, 

 3 December 1976). 



States: None. 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



Timber harvesting by clearcutting, site prepa- 

 ration, and conversion of mixed hardwood stands 

 to pine plantations have been shown to cause lo- 

 calized extermination of red hills salamanders 

 (French 1976). The amount of suitable habitat is 



steadily shrinking due to these timber manage- 

 ment practices (Jordan and Mount 1975). 



Overcollection by amateur and professional 

 herpetologists has reduced populations in some 

 areas (41 FR 53032-53034, 3 December 1976). 



Natural low fertility (Brandon 1965) inhibits 

 recovery of decimated populations. 



PRIORITY INDEX 



Not assigned. 



DESCRIPTION 



The red hills salamander is solid dark brown 

 to black, with no pattern. Palms, soles, and snout 

 are somewhat paler. Adults are 80 to 119 mm in 

 snout-to-vent length (total length up to 256 mm); 

 the body is elongate with 20 to 22 costal grooves 

 and proportionately small limbs. The eyes are 

 protuberant. 



RANGE 



The salamander is known only from south 

 central Alabama between the Conecuh and Ala- 

 bama Rivers, where it is restricted to the Talla- 

 hatta and Hatchetigbee geological formations. Its 

 known distribution includes 22,213 ha (French 

 1976). An additional 1,485 ha contiguous with 



