Deletion of Eurycea guttolineata from theHerpetofauna of Maryland

摘要

Despite the attempts of four authorities to add the three-lined salamander, Eurycea guttolin-eata, to the herpetofauna of Maryland, there is currently no basis for it. Bishop (1943) was the first and mapped this species (as E. longicauda guttolineata) as occurring throughout southern Maryland, even though he stated its northern range limit was Fairfax County, Virginia. Next Schmidt (1953), in his checklist, stated its range to be "Coastal plain and piedmont from Maryland southwestward ...." It appears there was no evidence at the time for either of these actions, and there is no support in the preceding checklist (Stejneger and Barbour 1943) or the first four editions. A third assertion that the three-lined salamander occurs in Maryland was provided by Suttkus and Gordon (1956); Miller (1980) discussed the basis for this erroneous claim. The possibility of this species' occurrence in the state was next mentioned by Harris et al. (1967) and Harris (1969, 1975), but Ireland (1979), without comment, was the first to plot a locality and map this taxon (as E. longicauda guttolineata) as ranging throughout the Maryland piedmont. He did not include southern Maryland on his map. Miller (1980) noted the significance of Ireland's record and later (1984) published an updated map of the complex. Ireland's preserved herpetological collection was to be eventually deposited in the American Museum of Natural History (P. H. Ireland, personal communication, 1980), but never was and its location is unknown (D. A. Kizirian, personal communication, 2006). It appears that Ireland's report of the three-lined salamander in Maryland was the result of a mapping error, con-siderable embellishment of this error, and until verifiable evidence becomes available, this species should not be considered a part of the state's fauna.