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 Official State Amphibian
Adoption of State AmphibianSenate Bill 147, proposing the Red Hills Salamander Phaeognathus hubrichti was introduced to the Alabama State Senate in February 2000. It proposed:
SB147
By Senators Lipscomb, Butler, Armistead, Myers, Callahan,
Lee, Dixon, Bedford, Little (Z), Denton, Holley, Mitchell,
Lindsey, and Preuitt
An Act, To designate the Red Hills Salamander as the
official state amphibian.
Under existing law, the State of Alabama does not have an
official state amphibian. This bill would designate the Red
Hills Salamander as the official state amphibian.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. The Red Hills Salamander, Phaeognathus hubrichti
Highton 1961, is hereby designated and named as the
official state amphibian of Alabama.
Section 2. This act shall become effective
immediately following its passage and approval by the
Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
The Alabama Senate approved Senate Bill 147 on February 15, 2000 and the Alabama House of Representatives approved the bill on April 6, 2000. Alabama's Governor Don Siegelman signed the legislation on April 13, 2000. Act 232 of the 2000 Alabama Legislature designated the Red Hills Salamander the official state amphibian of Alabama. About the Red Hills Salamander
Before 1960, the Red Hills Salamander was unknown... at least, to scientists. It was discovered by land snail expert, Leslie Hubricht, in Butler County in 1960. He was searching for snails. Instead, he found a large brown salamander. It was later determined by Dr. Richard Highton of the University of Maryland that this salamander was a new species, the first discovered in over 60 years. Dr. Highton named the salamander Phaeognathus hubrichti in 1961. Phaeognathus means "dark jawed" and hubrichti is given to honor the salamander's discoverer, Leslie Hubricht. A second Red Hills Salamander was obtained by an Ohio State University team in 1963. They discovered that the salamanders lived in burrows on the slopes of moist, cool ravines shaded by hardwood trees. They like moist conditions. Because they remain in their borrows during the day, the best time to spot a salamander is at night when they come out to eat. Searching for their borrows at night with flashlights is generally productive. Relatively large for salamanders, Red Hills Salamanders can grow to become 10 inches long. Their bodies are dark brownish-purplish with lighter sides and no obvious markings.
Red Hills Salamanders are found only in Alabama and only in an area of about 50-60,000 acres in a 60-mile narrow belt between the Conecuh and Alabama rivers. Residing in two siltstone geological formations, the Tallahatta and Hatchitigbee, they are found only in parts of Butler, Crenshaw, Conecuh, Covington and Monroe Counties. Because the Red Hills Salamander lives in a very small section of Alabama, and the world for that matter, and because of the loss of habitat and low reproductive rates, it was placed under Federal protection in 1976. Under the endangered species act, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Red Hills Salamander as "threatened". Threatened means that the species is likely to become endangered if it is not protected. An "endangered" species is one that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct and needs protection to survive.
It's estimated that about 6O percent of the remaining salamander habitat is currently owned or leased by paper companies, which use clear-cut systems of forest management. Clear-cutting, along with mechanical site preparation for replanting, appears to completely destroy the habitat for the Red Hills salamander. Recommendations of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Code of AlabamaThe following information is excerpted from the Code of Alabama, Title 1, Chapter 2, Section 34. TITLE 1.
(Act 2000-232, p. 367, §1.)
Additional InformationThe Red Hills Salamander: Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama's Threatened & Endangered Species Red Hills Salamander: Auburn University, Threatened and Endangered Species of Alabama: A Guide to Assist with Forestry Activities Species Accounts: Red Hills Salamander: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species Salamanders of the United States and Canada: by James W. Petranka, Copyright 1998. Newts and Salamanders: Everything About Selection, Care, Nutrition, Diseases, Breeding, and Behavior by Frank Indiviglio, Michele Earle-Bridges, Richard D. Barlett, Copyright 1997 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species, (http://endangered.fws.gov/), December 15, 2004
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