SREL Reprint #3874

Range-wide phylogeography of chamberlain’s Dwarf salamander (Eurycea chamberlaini)

Todd W. Pierson1, Stacey L. Lance2, Padraic S. Robinson2, E. Tucker Stonecypher2, and David A. Beamer3

1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
3Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Nihonmatsu-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan

Abstract: In the southeastern United States, the diversity of lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) in the Piedmont and Coastal Plains is often overshadowed by that of the Appalachian Highlands. However, recent systematic studies have uncovered previously undescribed diversity in these lowlands, and here, we contribute to this body of work by reexamining the phylogeography of the Chamberlain’s dwarf salamander (Eurycea chamberlaini)—a small, biphasic salamander with an unusual and disjunct distribution throughout the Carolinas and that is petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act. We collected hundreds of samples through range-wide surveys, generated genome-wide SNP data from 2RAD libraries, and conducted a series of complementary phylogenetic and population genetic analyses. Our fieldwork revealed this species to be widespread and common even in relatively disturbed habitats, and we found no evidence for the evolutionary distinctiveness of disjunct populations in and near the Appalachian foothills. Instead, we found that populations in the southwestern Atlantic Coastal Plain of South Carolina were sister to all other populations of E. chamberlaini, showing marked genetic differentiation with little evidence of gene flow. We describe other geographic patterns in genetic differentiation and diversity of E. chamberlaini and highlight opportunities for future research to resolve remaining questions about species boundaries in the group.

Keywords: Amphibian; RADseq; Population genomic; Cryptic species; Plethodontidae

SREL Reprint #3874

Pierson, T. W., S. L. Lance, P. S. Robinson, E. T. Stonecypher, and D. A. Beamer. 2026. Range-wide phylogeography of chamberlain’s Dwarf salamander (Eurycea chamberlaini). Conservation Genetics 27(31).

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).