Salamander Mimicry

 

Interactions between imitator salamanders (Desmognathus imitator) and other salamanders in the Great Smoky Mountains provide an amazing example of batesian mimicry. Batesian mimics are harmless species that have evolved warning signals associated with a harmful species. In many amphibians, the color red serves as a toxin warning to predators. This is true of several species of salamander in the Great Smoky Mountains, the red-cheeked salamander (Plethodon jordani) and the red-legged salamander (Plethodon shermani). Where the ranges of these species overlap with the imitator salamander, the imitator assumes the red patches associated with each species.

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop