28 Robert Wayne Van Devender and Paul F. Nicoletto 



DISCUSSION 



Four of Wilson Creek's reptiles represent significant range exten- 

 sions into the northwestern mountains of North Carolina (Conant 1975; 

 Martof et al. 1980; pers. comm., W. M. Palmer and A. L. Braswell) as 

 discussed below. 



Anolis carolinensis, — Anoles are common in the Coastal Plain of 

 North Carolina almost to Virginia and are known from a couple of 

 Piedmont Plateau and Mountain areas (Martof et al. 1980; pers. 

 comm., Palmer and Braswell). There are only a few published records 

 for this species in the mountains. Weller (1930) found them not 

 uncommon at about 457 m (1500') near Chimney Rock, Rutherford 

 County. Bruce (1965) found several individuals in the gorges of the 

 southern Blue Ridge escarpment, Transylvania County, where they 

 reached an altitude of 670 m (2200'). Anoles have also been reported at 

 elevations below 550 m (1800') in the Tennessee part of the Great 

 Smoky Mountains National Park (King 1939; Huheey and Stupka 

 1967). Another population near Townsend, Tennessee, just north of the 

 Park, has been studied recently (Wade and Echternacht 1980, and pers. 

 comm.). All montane sites for this species are associated with exposed, 

 fractured rock with deep fissures, usually near the head of rather steep 

 gorges. These conditions apparently ameHorate the cool conditions that 

 exclude anoles from most of the mountains. The exposed rocks allow 

 behavioral thermoregulation in the face of the cold, while the crevices 

 provide a means to escape severe cold weather, for which they seem 

 otherwise ill adapted (Mount 1975). 



The Wilson Creek population represents a range extension of about 

 66 km (41 mi) north and 50 km (31 mi) east of the Rutherford County 

 site, the closest published record. Wilson Creek is also about 161 km 

 (100 mi) west of a Randolph County population in the northern Pied- 

 mont. The northernmost Tennessee population is near Pigeon Forge, 

 which is about 48 km (30 mi) south and 170 km (105 mi) west of the 

 Wilson Creek site. The anoles in Caldwell County are one of the most 

 northern populations known, and are probably the population that 

 experiences the most severe winter conditions encountered by the species. 



Eumeces inexpectatus. — Southeastern five-lined skinks are not 

 found in the higher mountains of North Carolina, even though they do 

 extend to the north on either side of the mountains (Conant 1965; Mar- 

 tof et al. 1980; pers. comm.. Palmer and Braswell). As with anoles, there 

 are few records for this species in the mountains. Bruce (1965) reported 

 them at elevations up to 550 m (1800') in the gorges along the south- 

 eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Transylvania 

 County. The species has been found infrequently in the Great Smoky 

 Mountains National Park up to about 610 m (2000') (King 1939; 



