David A. Young

4612 Albert Court, Apt. 102

Va. Beach, VA 23455

Highland County is located in the northwestern part of Virginia, and is bordered by Bath County to the south, Augusta County to the east, and West Virginia to the north and west. The major roads are U.S. 220 and U.S. 250 which intersect in the town of Monterey.

During 1984 - 1990, I traveled every hard surface road exploring this beautiful county. Highland County is in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. At the western corner of the county the mountains change from typical Tuscarora sandstone to a much older Silurian sandstone capped with Devonian Shale (Frye, 1986). Here the mountains are contoured much differently since the sandstone is older and more worn. The area may best be described as Appalachian Plateau.

Most of the forest is second growth mixed hardwood on the eastern half of the county. Red-spruce, yellow birch, and sugar maple make up the ridge tops in the western portion of the county, with hemlock and white pine in moist areas. Three rivers flow through the county: the Bullpasture, Cowpasture, and Jackson rivers, as well as Back Creek and the South Branch of the Potomic River.

In 1989, I received a grant from The Virginia Herpetological Society. My main interest was to study the rare mountain earth snake, and to compile a list of other herp fauna encountered in Highland County.

Methods

The methods used included checking beneath debris in fields, streams, and road cuts, road cruising after sunset and heavy rains, with dipnetting and Chickenwire funnel turtle traps to sample aquatic habitats.

Reptiles and Amphibians Collected from Highland Co., VA, 1984 - 1990.

Codes for Table 1

* = Species found in survey

 

** = New County record according to Toby, F.J. 1985. Virginia's Amphibians and Reptiles: A Distributional Survey. Virginia Herpetological Society.

 

# = New subspecies for the state.

 

* Desmognathus f. fuscus - Northern Dusky Salamander. The Northern Dusky salamander is common all over the county and found in all rocky streams by raking debris. Individuals were found every year from 1984 to 1989.

 

* Desmognathus m. monticola - Appalachian Seal Salamander. Seal salamanders were found in all medium and steep high elevation streams. They were first caught on 2 August 1984, 3.5 km west of Mill Gap and are found in eastern and northern steep streams.

 

* Desmognathus ochrophaeus - Mountain Dusky Salamander. Mountain dusky salamanders are common at all high elevation mountain tops (Alleghany, Lantz, and Buck Knob Mountains) where they live in terrestrial habitats under logs and leafpiles.

 

* Eurycea bislineata - Northern Two-Lined Salamander. Northern two-lined salamanders were caught in all aquatic habitats sampled.

 

* Eurycea l. longicauda - Longtailed Salamander. Long-tailed salamanders were collected in a junk pile next to a stream, and in a cave in the middle of the county. They are common where found. Specimens were also picked up road cruising near Bluegrass, on 10 June 1987 and 23 June 1989.

 

* Eurycea lucifuga - Cave Salamander. Cave salamanders were found in a cave near Williamsville on 23 June 1989, approximately 3 m inside the entrance. Only one animal was found.

 

* Gyrinophilus porphyriticus - Spring Salamander. Spring salamanders were found at all elevations in seepage areas and quiet stream pools. They were sometimes seen out in the open in the daytime. Individuals were collected each time the county was surveyed.

 

Pseudotriton r. ruber - Northern Red Salamander. Red salamanders were not found in my six year survey. However, likely and suitable habitat does occur in many areas throughout the county, and continued surveying is recommended whenever herpetologists are in the area.

 

* Plethodon cinereus - Red-Backed Salamander. Red-backed salamanders were collected only on Alleghany Mountain and the Locust Springs area on 3 June 1986.

 

** Plethodon cylindraceus - White-Spotted Slimy Salamander. White-spotted slimy salamanders were found only in the eastern and central parts of the county at low elevations. One animal was picked up road cruising during a hard rain in 1986 and again in 1987. Additional specimens were found in a woodpile on June 1989.

 

* Plethodon glutinosus - Northern Slimy Salamander. The "true" slimy is found in the western portion of the county on Alleghany Mountain and Locust Springs. They were most common in high elevation spruce forests.

 

* Plethodon hoffmani - Valley and Ridge Salamander. This is a medium and high elevation species found on Alleghany Mountain and the Locust Springs area. They were common where found.

 

* Plethodon wehrlei - Wehrle's Salamander. Wehrle's salamander lives only at high elevations. They were first found on 2 August 1984 on Alleghany Mountain. In 1989 one animal was found in Locust Springs Campground and a population was still well established on Alleghany Mountain at that time.

 

** Hyla versicolor - Eastern Gray Treefrog. One male was found calling in a bush overhanging a tank trap on the western slope of Shenandoah mountain in the eastern part of the county on 23 June 1989, South of Headwaters.

 

* Pseudacris crucifer - Spring Peeper. Spring peepers were found on Co. Rt. 616 near Headwaters on 23 June 1989.

 

** Rana clamitans melanota - Green Frog. Only one specimen was encountered, on the west side of Shenendoah Mountain near Headwaters on 24 June 1989.

 

** Rana sylvaticus - Wood Frog. I collected only 1 specimen hopping around in the rain in Locust Springs campground.

 

* Chrysemys p. picta - Eastern Painted Turtle. Several were observed, but only one collected. The animal collected was on Co. Rt. 614 next to the Cowpasture river on 25 June 1989.

 

* Pseudemys concinna - River Cooter. None were found, but the species has been recorded from the county. (J. C. Mitchell, pers. comm.)

 

* Chelydra serpentina - Snapping Turtle. One specimen was found DOR by A. Pague (pers. comm.) near Headwaters in June 1990.

 

* Eumeces anthracinus - Coal Skink. Found by A. Pague pers. comm.) in June 1989 on Sapling Ridge.

 

Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus - Northern Fence Lizard. One specimen was seen on a farmers fence post near the Bullpasture river near McDowell, however, the animal escaped capture.

 

** Coluber c. constrictor - Northern Black Racer. Only one animal was found in a junk pile near the center of the county on 23 June 1989.

 

* Diadophis punctatus edwardsii - Northern Ringneck Snake. This species is widespread throughout the county at all elevations in road cuts and cable crossings, under rocks and debris. Numerous indivudulas were found each year of the study.

 

* Lampropeltis t. triangulum - Northern Milk Snake. Milk snakes were collected at all elevations in road cuts and junk piles. They were first collected on 2 August 1984, and then each following year.

 

* Nerodia s. sipedon - Northern Water Snake. Water snakes were found in all major waterways at low elevations.

 

* Opheodrys vernalis - Smooth Green Snake. Several were found in two high elevation balds on Alleghany and Lantz Mountains on 3 June 1986.

 

* Crotalus h. horridus - Timber Rattlesnake. Timber rattlesnakes were found in Highland Co. by C. Mitchell (pers. comm.) in 1985.

 

** Storeria o. occipitomaculata - Northern Redbellied Snake. Red-bellied snakes were caught on Lantz Mountain in road cuts on 3 June 1986 and 26 June 1989.

 

* Thamnophis s. sirtalis - Eastern Garter Snake. This species is county-wide at all elevations. Seventeen were caught under one large rock in a road cut on U.S. 250 on 3 June 1986.

 

# Virginia valeriae pulchra - Mountain Earth Snake. During the survey in 1989 no specimens were found. However I did find the first confirmed specimen on 3 June 1986 in a road cut on Lantz Mountain. This represents a new subspecies for the state and confirms an earlier unvouchered observation (Mitchell, 1991).

 

Summary

Highland and many other counties in our Commonwealth are in need of research. I urge all interested persons to perform surveys and take field notes. A good photograph of each specimen with the exact locality of each collection os required to voucher a species occurance. I would be more than willing to offer my help, so please don't hesitate to contact me.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their cooperation and support during the course of this study: The Virginia Herpetological Society, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the National Park Service, the Division of State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, the Virginia Museum Natural History, Joseph C. Mitchell, Chris A. Pague and Kurt A. Buhlmann.

Literature Cited

Frye, 1986. Roadside Geology of Virginia. Mountain Press Publishing Co., Missoula, MT.

Mitchell, V.C., 1991. Mountain Earth Snake, Virginia Valeriae Pulchra -pp. 461 - 462 In K. Terwilliger (Coordinator), Virginia's Endangered Species. MacDonald and Woodward Publishing Co., Blacksburg, VA.

Toby, F.J. 1985. Virginia's Amphibians and Reptiles, A Distributional Survey. Virginia Herpetological Society, Purcellville, VA.