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Species: Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus)

Use: Courtship

Authors: Paul A.Verrell

Methods: N/A

Publications/Presentations: Paul A.Verrell (1997). Courtship in Desmognathine Salamanders: the Southern Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus auriculatus. Journal of Herpetology, 31:2 (273-277) Courtship Behavior Patterns:

Move Away: The female turns or moves away from the male as he follows or approaches

Move Toward: The female turns or moves toward the male when he is in her vicinity

Follow: The male moves after the female, either as she moves away from him or when she is separated from him but moving

Approach: The male slowly moves toward the female when she is stationary and in his vicinity

Butterfly: The male moves his forelimbs backward and upward, and then forward and downward, in a circular motion. The forelimbs may move alternately or (more usually) simultaneously

Nudge: The snout of the male makes one or more contacts with the dorsal or lateral part of the body or tail of the femaleBody Rub: The male rubs his cheek and/or chin against any part of the female’s body except for her head

Head rub: The male rubs the femaleís head with his own. Head rubbing may occur with the male positioned in front of or alongside the female. Three types of head rubbing are apparent:

- the male rubs his cheek against the female’s cheek more or less in a horizontal plane

- the male rubs the top of his head against the femaleís throat and chin

- ned on the upper part of his tail base and her forelimbs straddle his undulating tail. The male then moves forward in a straight line, still undulating his tail laterally, and the female follows, remaining astride his tail. The male then ceases his forward movement, the intensity of his tail undulations increases and he deposits a spermatophore o the male rubs his throat and chin against the top of the female’s head

Pull: The male presses his chin against the femaleís dorsum by bending his head downward. He then pulls his head backward in one or more short strokes, keeping his chin in contact with the female.

Snap: Adopting the same posture as seen when he ëpullsí, the male draws his head backward in a single, sudden and rapid movement of his whole body

Tail Undulation: The male undulates the whole length of his tail laterally in a continuous, fluid movement

Tail-straddle Walk (involving both sexes):The male slides his body under the head of the stationary female until her chin is position the substratum below his cloaca. Immediately after the deposition the male resumes his forward movement and the female follows, still astride his tail. As he moves forward approximately one body length in distance, the male swings his undulating tail out from underneath the female and holds it to one side. The male then halts, and with the female resting her head in the vicinity of his tail base, he vigorously and repeatedly raises and lowers his pelvis and the proximal part of his tail, largely by extending and flexing his hind limbs. These movements may repeatedly raise and lower the head and forebody of the female, who also generates rapid, lateral movements of her own pelvic area at the same time. At this point in the sequence the dorsal, sperm-filled cap of the spermatophore may lodge within the femaleís cloaca. The female then moves away from the male who may turn back and briefly follow her before losing interest.

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