identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03C14062FFAA5F66FE16FAB5E0A6FD48.text	03C14062FFAA5F66FE16FAB5E0A6FD48.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Necturus beyeri subsp. beyeri Hecht 1958	<div><p>Necturus beyeri beyeri Hecht 1958</p> <p>Necturus punctatus beyeri Brode, 1969, in part Necturus (Parvurus) beyeri Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012</p> <p>Holotype. USNM 102674 (Figure 11 (a,b)), an adult female from the Upper Calcasieu River at Oakdale (no exact locality given), Allen Parish, LA. This locality is within the range of the Western lineage of Chabarria et al. (2017).</p> <p>Paratypes. USNM 102676; MCZ 17732, 17733 are listed in the original species description (Viosca 1937). To these we add representatives from within the ranges of the Mobile (AUM</p> <p>40150), Pearl (MMNS 1288, LSUMZ 62933, SLU 744), and Pontchartrain (LSUMZ 99424, SLU 6211, 6213) lineages (Figure 11 (c–h))</p> <p>Diagnosis. Membership of this species in the genus Necturus is demonstrated by retention of external gills in adults, presence of pigmented skin, and reduction of digits on hind limbs to four toes. Our concept of N. beyeri contains specimens of the Gulf Coastal Plain possessing a larva with numerous small white spots and lacking dark stripes (Figure 2 (b)).</p> <p>Comparisons. Juveniles of N. beyeri have small white punctations, an apparent autapomorphy that distinguishes this species from N. alabamensis and N. maculosus (larvae with two light dorsolateral stripes), N. lewisi (larvae with light middorsal stripe), and N. punctatus and the Apalachicola and Escambia lineages (larvae lacking stripes and white spots). Adults of N. beyeri typically possess large, bold, dark dorsal and lateral spots and retain the white punctations of the juveniles, creating a particularly colourful phenotype that distinguishes N. beyeri from N. punctatus and the Escambia and Apalachicola lineages. Along with N. maculosus, the Western lineage of N. beyeri has 6 pairs of telocentric chromosomes and an increased level of heterochromatin in the Y chromosome of males that differentiate these taxa from N. lewisi and N. punctatus (reduced heterochromatin, no telocentric chromosomes), and from the Apalachicola lineage (4 pairs of telocentric chromosomes, intermediate levels of heterochromatin in Y chromosome; Sessions and Wiley 1985). Additional sampling of the Escambia, Mobile, Pearl, and Pontchartrain lineages are needed to demonstrate the complete distribution of these character states.</p> <p>Emended description of holotype. In preservation, the type specimen is 211 mm TOT, 144 mm SVL, and 67 mm TL; number of costal grooves is 16. The dorsal ground colour in preservation is slate brown with numerous white punctations across the entire body. The head has round dark-brown spots that are small anteriorly (about the same size as eye) and enlarged and bolder posteriorly (starting at insertion of gills). The head lacks a dark stripe from the nostril through the eye. The enlarged, bold, dark brown spots continue along the dorsum and sides of body to the tip of the tail. The ground colour of the venter is uniform tan, lacking the white punctations along the mid-venter but with such punctations gradually appearing ventrolaterally. The chin has small brown spots on skin covering the mandibles; spots are absent from the midventral skin of the chin. The venter has small brown spots midventrally, becoming enlarged laterally. The holotype has the following values for measured morphological features described above – ED: 2.9 mm; EL: 1.8 mm; GD: 4.7 mm; GEL: 20.6 mm; GL: 26.1 mm; HWE: 18.8 mm; HWG: 28.2 mm; POL: 21.1 mm; REW: 3.4 mm; SL: 8.1 mm; SRE: 10.4 mm; SW: 6.5 mm; WBW: 21.8 mm.</p> <p>Variation. Necturus beyeri achieves relatively large adult sizes, with a maximum male size of 184.0 mm SVL (+ 68 mm TL) and a maximum female size of 177.0 mm SVL (+ 66 mm TL). Mean male size is 134.2 mm SVL (n = 53) and mean female size is 120.8 mm SVL (n = 94). In dorsal aspect, the modal adult lacks snout spotting (73% of specimens), has large dorsal (66% of specimens) and lateral (74% of specimens) spotting, and lacks chin (61% of specimens) and ventral (45% of specimens) spotting. The Pearl lineage diverges from this modal pattern in having a high percentage of snout (63%), chin (54%) and ventral (56%) spotting, and the Mobile lineage diverges from the mode in having a high percentage of small dorsal (54%) spotting and no chin (93%) or ventral (84%) spotting. The modal value for costal grooves is 17 (n = 147), with 35% of specimens possessing 16 grooves, and 2% possessing 18.</p> <p>Adult males (n = 53) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 1.2 mm (0.1–5.3); EL: 1.8 mm (0.1–3.8); GD: 3.3 mm (0.9–6.2); GEL: 16.1 mm (10.4–2.2); GL: 21.1 mm (13.1–34.1); HWE: 12.6 (8.0–23.7); HWG: 19.5 (12.- 8–36.1); POL: 16.5 mm (10.6–26.6); REW: 2.4 mm (1.5–4.2); SL: 6.9 mm (3.2–12.0); SRE: 8.7 mm (4.9–14.7); SW: 5.2 mm (2.0–9.7); WBW: 19.0 (12.0–37.4).</p> <p>Adult females (n = 94) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 0.8 mm (0.1–4.3); EL: 1.9 mm (0.1–4.3); GD: 2.9 mm (1.4–6.8); GEL: 14.3 mm (7.1–27.9); GL: 19.1 mm (10.8–34.4); HWE: 11.2 mm (11.2–20.9); HWG: 17.0 mm (8.9–34.5); POL: 14.6 mm (7.3–28.5); REW: 2.3 mm (1.2–4.3); SL: 5.7 mm (2.7–12.4); SRE: 7.6 mm (3.5–14.6); SW: 4.9 mm (2.0–10.2); WBW: 16.7 mm (8.0–36.8).</p> <p>Etymology. The specific epithet is a patronym for George E. Beyer, a naturalist at Tulane University early in the 1900s who provided summaries of the herpetofauna of the state of Louisiana. The recommended English common name is Western Waterdog.</p> <p>Distribution and natural history. Our re-description of Necturus beyeri restricts each lineage to the following drainages: Mobile lineage – Mobile (AL) to Biloxi (MS); Pearl lineage – Wolf (MS) to Pearl (LA); Pontchartrain lineage – Bayou Bonfouca to Blind River (LA); Western lineage – Calcasieu (LA) to West Fork of the San Jacinto River (TX; Figure 12).</p> <p>No life history study has been performed on the Mobile lineage. Specimens are known from drainages entering Mobile Bay, where these salamanders can be found in dipnet samples of leaf beds. Farther north, we have sampled them from rocky reaches of the Tallapoosa River and from leaf packs under bridges of the Coosa River. The species is found in the same drainage as N. alabamensis, but with the Mobile lineage occupying slower-moving waters of the Coastal Plain, and N. alabamensis occupying swifter waters of the terminus of the Sand Mountain formation. The two species are both present in the Black Warrior River just east of Northport Lock and Dam, Yellow Creek at Lake Nichol Road crossing, and the North River near Samantha, all in Tuscaloosa County, AL (Bart et al. 1997). These represent the only cases of sympatry involving Gulf Coast waterdogs. We examined no specimen that appeared to represent a morphological hybrid. Gunter and Brode (1964) collected specimens from the Biloxi and Pascagoula drainages, mostly on hooks baited with earthworms. Undercut banks or overhanging stumps and tree trunks associated with deep pools are key habitat features associated with this lineage (Gunter and Brode 1964). Use of litter bags might increase detection of the Mobile lineage in occupied streams. From this sampling technique, Eurycea cirrigera, E. quadridigitata, and Desmognathus conanti are known associates (Lamb and Qualls 2013).</p> <p>Within the Pearl lineage, males have swollen cloacal openings and motile sperm in December and January, and detection of gravid females increases during November and December, when mating likely occurs (Shoop 1965). Undercut banks or overhanging stumps and tree trunks associated with deep pools are key habitat features associated with detection of females and nests. Clutch size averages 57 eggs. Eggs are retained by females and clutches are deposited in April or May in deep water under rocks, logs or other sunken objects. Females attend the nests and can store sperm for at least six months after mating (Sever and Bart 1996). Juveniles and subadults eat isopods, midges, and mayflies while adults feed on mayflies and caddisflies; prey consumption decreases in warm months when leaf litter used by detritivorous prey is decreased (Bart and Holzenthal 1985). Specimens from coastal areas may occasionally be eaten by blue crabs (Gunter and Brode 1964). The Pearl lineage often is infested with acanthocephalan parasites, for which waterdogs are a definitive host. These salamander hosts likely become infected via consumption of isopods, the intermediate host (Bart and Holzenthal 1985).</p> <p>No life history study has been performed on the Pontchartrain lineage. However, recent study of a dense population in Bayou Lacombe has documented the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans in populations of this lineage (Glorioso et al. 2017).</p> <p>Brenes and Ford (2006) provide the only published field study of the Western lineage of N. beyeri. They examined the species in Gilley and Hill Creeks of Smith County, TX where minnow traps placed along stream banks were used to capture waterdogs. The lineage was detected more frequently during November through January; none was detected during May, June, July, and August. This pattern was associated with a negative relationship between captures and water temperature, with no captures occurring when water temperatures exceeded 18°C. Reduction of activity at this temperature is similar to that reported for N. lewisi by Braswell and Ashton (1985), suggesting similar thermal tolerance within the entire genus. Recaptured individuals typically were found within 20 m of the initial capture, but distances of up to 230 m were observed between captures. Males retained in aquaria showed behaviours consistent with defence of underwater refugia during January and February, the presumed breeding period for free-ranging individuals. Animals captured in the field were associated with sandy- or gravel-bottom regions, typically with logjams.</p> <p>Remarks. The collection locality of the holotype likely is where LA highway 10 crosses the Calcasieu River west of Oakdale (30.822529 -92.684595; WGS84).</p></div> 	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C14062FFAA5F66FE16FAB5E0A6FD48	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Guyer, Craig;Murray, Christopher;Bart, Henry L.;Crother, Brian I.;Chabarria, Ryan E.;Bailey, Mark A.;Dunn, Khorizon	Guyer, Craig, Murray, Christopher, Bart, Henry L., Crother, Brian I., Chabarria, Ryan E., Bailey, Mark A., Dunn, Khorizon (2020): Colour and size reveal hidden diversity of Necturus (Caudata: Proteidae) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 54 (1 - 4): 15-41, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677
03C14062FFB75F63FEB1FCF7E094FCFC.text	03C14062FFB75F63FEB1FCF7E094FCFC.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Necturus beyeri subsp. alabamensis Hecht 1958	<div><p>Necturus beyeri alabamensis Hecht, 1958, in part</p> <p>Necturus alabamensis Neill 1963, in part and misidentification Necturus beyeri Mount 1975, in part Necturus cf beyeri Bart et al. 1997, in part Necturus (Parvurus) lodingi, Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, in part Necturus cf lodingi Escambia lineage, Chabarria et al. 2017</p> <p>Holotype. AUM 40698 (Figure 13), a female collected 14 February 2014 at <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-86.53378&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=31.16427" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -86.53378/lat 31.16427)">Camp Creek</a> where it crosses <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-86.53378&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=31.16427" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -86.53378/lat 31.16427)">Conecuh National Forest Road</a> 332 (31.16427 –86.53378; WGS84), Covington County, AL, by David Laurencio.</p> <p>Paratypes. AUM 37483 (a female), FLMNH 68839 (a male), and MMNS 1248 (a male).</p> <p>Diagnosis. Membership of this species in the genus Necturus is demonstrated by retention of external gills in adults, presence of pigmented skin, presence of four welldeveloped limbs, and reduction of digits on hind limbs to four toes. This species is unique in possessing a larval stage lacking numerous small white spots and an adult stage that is small in size, possesses dark dorsal and lateral spotting that is no larger than the size of the eye, and lacks evidence of spotting on the chin or belly. Ten sequence autapomorphies diagnose N. mounti, one of which is unambiguous (Chabarria 2008). The species is sister to all other Necturus of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Figure 1).</p> <p>Comparisons. Larvae of N. mounti are uniform pinkish grey in life, typically lacking any small white spots, features that distinguish this species from the Mobile, Pearl, Pontchartrain and Western lineages of N. beyeri (numerous small white spots); N. alabamensis (light dorsolateral stripes); N. lewisi (middorsal light stripe); and N. maculosus (light dorsolateral stripes). Larvae of N. mounti are indistinguishable from those of the Apalachicola lineage and N. punctatus. Adults of N. mounti typically possess small (no larger than size of eye) dark dorsal and lateral spots, features that distinguish this lineage from the Pearl, Pontchartrain and Western lineages of N. beyeri and from N. lewisi (large dark dorsal spots); adults of North Carolina populations of N. punctatus are similar in adult dorsal colour pattern to N. mounti while South Carolina and Georgia populations typically lack dark spots. Adults of N. alabamensis and N. maculosus frequently have large dark spotting on the dorsal and lateral surfaces (rarely seen in N. mounti) but may retain faded evidence of the dorsolateral light stripe of the larval stage (never seen in N. mounti). The belly of N. mounti, in life, is white, changing abruptly to the dark lateral colouration, and the chin also is immaculate. These features differ in the Apalachicola, Pearl, Pontchartrain, and Western lineages of N. beyeri (ventrolateral dark spots; spotting on mandibles of chin, occasionally to level of gular fold).</p> <p>Description of holotype. In preservation, the type specimen is 143 mm TOT, 103.0 mm SVL, and 40 mm TL (but tail cut for tissue sample); number of costal grooves is 16. The dorsal ground colour in preservation is uniform dark grey brown and the dorsum has distinct round dark spots that are approximately the size of the eye. This colour pattern also characterises the dorsal surface of the tail. The head is uniformly dark slate brown, lacking a dark stripe from the nostril through the eye. The dark dorsal colouration extends onto the lateral surface of the venter; changing abruptly to immaculate white at midventer; the edge of this transition zone is scalloped. The chin is immaculate white. The holotype has the following values for measured morphological features – ED: 1.3 mm; EL: 2.0 mm; GD: 2.3 mm; GEL: 15.7 mm; GL: 17.2 mm; HWE: 11.4 mm; HWG: 16.1 mm; POL: 15.9 mm; REW: 2.4 mm; SL: 4.6 mm; SRE: 6.4 mm; SW: 4.4 mm; WBW: 18.1 mm.</p> <p>Variation. Necturus mounti achieves relatively small adult sizes, with a maximum male size of 116 mm SVL (+ 49 mm TL) and a maximum female size of 110 mm SVL (+ 53 mm TL). Mean male size is 108.4 mm SVL (n = 9) and mean female size is 94.8 mm SVL (n = 11). Approximately 80% of specimens conform to the dorsal colour categories described above. About 10% of specimens lack dark dorsal and lateral spots and about 10% have large dark dorsal spots. Ventrally, about 5% of specimens have spots along the mandibles with all others being spotless. Similarly, about 15% of specimens have ventrolateral spots on the belly with the rest being spotless. Modal value for costal grooves is 17 (n = 17), with 47% of specimens having 16.</p> <p>Adult males (n = 7) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 1.4 mm (0.1–2.9); EL: 1.9 mm (0.7–2.9); GD: 3.2 mm (2.2–3.9); GEL: 15.6 mm (12.6–18.4); GL: 18.2 mm (15.2–20.9); HWE: 11.9 mm (9.4–14.3); HWG: 18.4 mm (13.9–21.5); POL: 16.9 mm (11.0–21.8); REW: 2.7 mm (2.3–3.0); SL: 6.5 mm (5.3–7.8); SRE: 8.0 mm (5.9–9.2); SW: 4.6 mm (2.4–5.8); WBW: 16.9 (12.8–18.9).</p> <p>Adult females (n = 10) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 0.7 mm (0.02–2.4); EL: 1.9 mm (0.3–2.6); GD: 3.0 mm (2.3–3.9); GEL: 14.8 mm (8.4–18.8); GL: 16.6 mm (12.1–21.2); HWE: 10.8 mm (9.2–13.3); HWG: 16.8 mm (14.7–19.3); POL: 14.4 mm (8.0–20.9); REW: 2.2 mm (1.5–2.6); SL: 5.2 mm (4.4–6.4); SRE: 7.0 mm (5.6–8.9); SW: 4.7 mm (3.3–6.3); WBW: 15.9 mm (12.6–18.1).</p> <p>Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in the genitive case honouring Robert H. Mount, the curator of Herpetology at Auburn University for many productive years and the person who pointed out the taxonomic challenge that was represented by the waterdogs of Alabama. The recommended English common name is Escambia Waterdog.</p> <p>Distribution and natural history. Necturus mounti occurs in the Blackwater, Escambia (Conecuh in Alabama), Perdido, and Yellow River drainages of Alabama and the western Panhandle of Florida (Figure 14). No published study has documented the life history of N. mounti. But this taxon is common at the type locality where, for the past 30 years, we have made haphazard samples because the site contains a large, permanent leaf pack from which we have rarely failed to detect N. mounti in dipnet samples of those leaves. Juveniles are detected year-round, with detections of adults being concentrated in January and February. Siren intermedia, Desmognathus conanti, Ichthyomyzon gagei, dragonfly naiads, and small crayfish are frequent associates of N. mounti when they occupy these leaf packs. Samples from the surface of the leaf pack rarely yield specimens. Instead, samples from greater than two feet below the water surface, which are associated with cooler waters, yield these salamanders. Heavy silt appears to reduce the chances of detection as does heavily decayed leaves. We infer from these observations that adults migrate to leaf packs to mate. We suspect that nesting takes place in the leaf packs. However, nesting might take place elsewhere, with juveniles and adults migrating to leaf packs, as has been observed for the Pearl lineage of N. beyeri (Shoop 1965; Sever and Bart 1996). Nevertheless, juveniles of N. mounti appear to remain in leaf packs as they grow to adulthood.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C14062FFB75F63FEB1FCF7E094FCFC	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Guyer, Craig;Murray, Christopher;Bart, Henry L.;Crother, Brian I.;Chabarria, Ryan E.;Bailey, Mark A.;Dunn, Khorizon	Guyer, Craig, Murray, Christopher, Bart, Henry L., Crother, Brian I., Chabarria, Ryan E., Bailey, Mark A., Dunn, Khorizon (2020): Colour and size reveal hidden diversity of Necturus (Caudata: Proteidae) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 54 (1 - 4): 15-41, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677
03C14062FFB25F6CFEB1FC43E194FAFB.text	03C14062FFB25F6CFEB1FC43E194FAFB.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Necturus beyeri subsp. alabamensis Hecht 1958	<div><p>Necturus beyeri alabamensis Hecht, 1958, in part</p> <p>Necturus alabamensis Neill 1963, in part and misidentification Necturus beyeri Neill 1963, in part Necturus cf beyeri Bart et al. 1997, in part Necturus (Parvurus) lodingi Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, in part Necturus cf beyeri Apalachicola lineage Chabarria et al. 2017</p> <p>Holotype. AUM 35617 (Figure 15), a female collected 1 March 2002 in <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-85.35017&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=31.01916" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -85.35017/lat 31.01916)">Big Creek</a> near Cottonwood (31.01916 − 85.35017; WGS84), Houston County, AL, by Michael Buntin.</p> <p>Paratypes. FLMNH 164246 (female); FLMNH 177187 (male).</p> <p>Diagnosis. Membership of this species in the genus Necturus is demonstrated by retention of external gills in adults, presence of pigmented skin, presence of four welldeveloped limbs, and reduction of digits on hind limbs to four toes. This species is unique in possessing a larval stage lacking numerous small white spots and an adult stage that is small in size, possesses dark dorsal and lateral spotting that is no larger than the size of the eye, and evidence of spotting on the mandible of the chin and lateral portion of the belly. Five sequence autapomorphies distinguish this species, all of which are ambiguous (Chabarria 2008). This species is sister to the Mobile lineage + N. alabamensis + Pearl lineage + N. beyeri + N. maculosus (Figure 1).</p> <p>Comparisons. Necturus moleri has a juvenile stage that is pinkish grey and lacks white spotting, features that distinguish this species from the Mobile, Pearl, Pontchartrain and Western lineages of N. beyeri (numerous small white spots); N. alabamensis (light dorsolateral stripes); N. lewisi (middorsal light stripe); and N. maculosus (light dorsolateral stripes). Larvae of N. moleri are indistinguishable from those of N. mounti and N. punctatus. As adults, N. moleri typically possesses small (no larger than size of eye) dark spots, but might lack spots altogether, features that distinguish this species from the Pearl, Pontchartrain and Western lineages of N. beyeri and from N. lewisi (large dark dorsal spots). Adults of North Carolina populations of N. punctatus are similar in adult dorsal colour pattern to N. moleri while South Carolina and Georgia populations typically lack dark spots. Adults of N. alabamensis and N. maculosus frequently have large dark spotting on the dorsal and lateral surfaces (rarely seen in N. moleri) but may retain faded evidence of the dorsolateral light stripe of the larval stage (never seen in N. moleri). In life, the chin of N. moleri typically has small dark spots on the mandibles and the belly is dull white with a gradual change along the border between the immaculate white mid-venter and the light brown sides of the body. These features distinguish this species from N. mounti (typically with bright white chin and belly with sharp border between venter and sides of body).</p> <p>Necturus moleri may possess a karyotype that includes 3 (Econfina Creek, Jackson Co FL, Choctawhatchee drainage; Guttman et al. 1990), 4 (Black Creek near Bruce, Walton Co FL, Choctawhatchee drainage; Sessions and Wiley 1985), or 6 (Juniper Creek, Marion Co GA, Chattahoochee drainage; Sessions and Wiley 1985) pairs of telocentric chromosomes. These characteristics of the karyotype represent a transition from an ancestral state lacking telocentric chromosomes (N. punctatus and N. lewisi) to a derived state of 6 pairs of telocentric chromosomes (N. maculosus and the Western lineage of N. beyeri; Sessions and Wiley 1985). Similarly, the Y chromosome changes from an ancestral condition with reduced heterochromatism (N. lewisi and N. punctatus) to a derived condition possessing extensive heterochromatism (N. maculosus and the Western lineage of N. beyeri), with N. moleri displaying intermediate levels of heterochromatism (Sessions and Wiley 1985). Additional karyotypic data are needed from N. mounti and the Mobile, Pearl and Pontchartrain lineages to determine whether the above modifications of the presumed primitive Necturus karyotype are autapomorphies of N. moleri or are synapomorphies of all Gulf Coast Necturus.</p> <p>Description of holotype. The type specimen measures 197 mm TOT, 134 mm SVL, and 63 mm TL; number of costal grooves is 16. The dorsum is a uniform dark greyish brown. The top of the head has numerous small dark brown punctations. The sides of the body are off- white, shading gradually to the dark dorsal colouration. The chin is light brown with a few dark brown punctations, especially along the mandibles. The gular fold is immaculate white, and the venter of the body is light brown with a few dark spots anteriorly, becoming immaculate shiny white at mid-venter, and shading gradually to a light smoky brown along the sides of the body. The holotype has the following values for measured morphological features – ED: 2.0 mm; EL: 0.9 mm; GD: 5.8 mm; GEL: 22.5 mm; GL: 24.9 mm; HWE: 17.2 mm; HWG: 28.9 mm; POL: 23.2 mm; REW: 2.2 mm; SL: 6.8 mm; SRE: 9.5 mm; SW: 6.6 mm; WBW: 27.5 mm.</p> <p>Variation. Necturus moleri is of small size, with a largest male of 173 mm SVL (+ 73 mm TL) and a largest female of 134 mm SVL (+ 63 mm TL). Adult males average 126.4 mm SVL (n = 11) and females average 102.3 mm SVL (n = 15). Unlike the type specimen, most individuals of N. moleri are light brown to tan, often with a pinkish cast, and possess numerous small dark dorsal (75% of specimens) and lateral spots (71% of specimens). However, the species might lack spots (11% of specimens) or have bold dark spots (4% of specimens). In ventral colouration, most specimens (71%) have dark spots along the mandibles of the chin and the ventrolateral aspect of the belly but might have spots across the entire chin and belly (25% of specimens) or might be immaculate white (4% of specimens). Thus, the colouration of N. moleri is more variable than N. punctatus or N. mounti, the two species with the most similar size and colour pattern. Juveniles of N. moleri are uniform in colour at the smallest sizes but develop dark dorsal and lateral spotting at sizes above ca. 45 mm SVL. The modal value for costal grooves is 16 (n = 15), with 33% of specimens possessing 17 grooves.</p> <p>Adult males (n = 6) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 1.4 mm (0.3–2.9); EL: 1.8 mm (0.1–3.8); GD: 3.8 mm (2.0–6.4); GEL: 19.1 mm (14.2–24.4); GL: 24.7 mm (18.9–32.1); HWE: 14.5 mm (10.5–17.6); HWG: 22.2 mm (17.5–29.7); POL: 18.7 mm (14.1–23.5); REW: 2.6 mm (1.9–3.8); SL: 7.2 mm (4.7–8.2); SRE: 9.3 mm (6.0–11.2); SW: 5.8 mm (3.6–8.5); WBW: 23.7 mm (17.0–35.5).</p> <p>Adult females (n = 9) have the following mean (and range) values for measured morphological features – ED: 1.2 mm (0.1–2.9); EL: 1.4 mm (0.1–2.2); GD: 3.2 mm (2.2–5.8); GEL: 14.4 mm (7.9–23.2); GL: 19.4 mm (10.8–24.9); HWE: 11.3 mm (7.1–17.2); HWG: 17.6 mm (11.4–28.9); POL: 14.0 mm (7.4–22.5); REW: 2.1 mm (1.6–2.7); SL: 5.3 mm (3.1–6.8); SRE: 7.1 mm (3.7–9.5); SW: 4.6 mm (2.0–6.6); WBW: 16.7 mm (10.6–27.5).</p> <p>Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in the genitive case honouring Paul E. Moler for his tireless devotion to field herpetology of the southeastern United States and for recognising the need to improve our understanding of species richness within Necturus of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The recommended English common name is Apalachicola Waterdog.</p> <p>Distribution and natural history. This species is restricted to the Apalachicola, Chipola, Choctawhatchee/Pea, Econfina, and Ochlockonee drainages of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia (Figure 16). No life history study has been performed on this taxon, but features are likely to be similar to those of N. mounti.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C14062FFB25F6CFEB1FC43E194FAFB	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Guyer, Craig;Murray, Christopher;Bart, Henry L.;Crother, Brian I.;Chabarria, Ryan E.;Bailey, Mark A.;Dunn, Khorizon	Guyer, Craig, Murray, Christopher, Bart, Henry L., Crother, Brian I., Chabarria, Ryan E., Bailey, Mark A., Dunn, Khorizon (2020): Colour and size reveal hidden diversity of Necturus (Caudata: Proteidae) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 54 (1 - 4): 15-41, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677
