Herpetological Review 50(4), 2019 756 756 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES CAUDATA — SALAMANDERS PLETHODON DIXI (Dixie Cavern Salamander). HABITAT. Plethodon dixi was first described by Pope and Fowler (1949. Nat. Hist. Misc. 47:1–4), but its species status was later refuted (Highton 1962. Bull. Florida State Mus. 6:235–367). However, this taxon was recently resurrected by Kuchta et al. (2018. Zool. Scripta 47:285–299) based on phylogenetic evidence. Pope and Fowler (1949, op. cit.) described P. dixi as occurring solely with- in Dixie Caverns and New Dixie Caverns in Roanoke County, Virginia, USA, and during multiple recent revisions of the P. wehrlei species complex (Kuchta et al. 2018, op. cit.; Felix et al. 2019. Zootaxa 4609:429–448) the confinement of this species to these two caves has been assumed. Herein, I report terrestrial observations of salamanders morphologically consistent with P. dixi from a forested ridgeline 5 km NW of the Dixie Caverns cave system. Between 2000 and 2030 h on 26 April 2018, I observed ca. 20 adult P. dixi on the southwestern ridgeline of Fort Lewis Mountain, near the Montgomery–Roanoke County line, Virginia, USA (37.26356°N, 80.21919°W; WGS 84). I discovered three individuals under rotting logs shortly after sunset (2000 h) and observed an additional 15–20 active on the surface over the next 30 min. All individuals were located directly atop the ridgeline. I found no evidence of fissures, caves, or rock outcroppings in the area, though I did not extensively search the mountainside. Local vegetation on the ridgeline consisted mostly of 20–50-year-old Acer and Quercus sp. intermixed with multiple other small deciduous trees. It rained lightly throughout the course of my observations, and the air temperature was ca. 15°C. Several months after my observations, the area where I observed all salamanders was clearcut to allow for the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline; a proposed natural gas pipeline that will span ca. 500 km across Virginia and West Virginia. It is unclear how this action will ultimately affect the status of these salamanders, but clearcuts have been implicated in the declines of several closely related plethodontids (deMaynadier and Hunter 1995. Environ. Rev. 3:230–261). Therefore, given the data deficient status and likely microendemic distribution of P. dixi, it is possible that recent clearcutting of Fort Lewis Mountain ridgeline will substantially impact populations locally or even range-wide (e.g., if gene flow is reduced). My observations thus highlight the importance of considering data deficient and microendemic taxa when conducting environmental assessments of proposed development projects. I thank R. Highton and S. Kuchta for verifying the salamanders as P. dixi. SKY T. BUTTON, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Vir- ginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA; e-mail: sbutton@vt.edu. PLETHODON DORSALIS (Northern Zigzag Salamander). PRE- DATION. Natural predators of Plethodon dorsalis are poorly documented (Petranka 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 587 pp.). In laboratory trials, P. dorsalis avoid substrates marked with the scent of Diadophis punctatus, suggesting these snakes may be significant predators of P. dorsalis (Cupp 1994. Anim. Behav. 48:232–235). Here, we report a field observation of D. punctatus preying upon P. dorsalis. At 1524 h, on 3 April 2019, we observed an adult D. punctatus within a narrow, vertical crevice within a limestone bluff, 1.2 m above the ground in LaRue-Pine Hills/Otter Pond Research Natural Area, Shawnee National Forest, Union County, Illinois, USA (37.55993°N, 89.44095°W; WGS 84). Initially, the snake’s head was obscured by moss, but its body movements suggested it was attempting to move down and backwards into a larger hollow in the crevice. Within one minute, the snake pulled its head and forebody downward into the larger space, revealing an adult P. dorsalis in its mouth. The snake was holding the salamander just behind the head (Fig. 1). The salamander’s tail was coiled around the snake, a defensive strategy employed by plethodontid salamanders to thwart snake predation (Arnold 1982. Copeia 1982:247–253). Although salamanders may comprise a large proportion of their diet (Uhler et al. 1939. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES NATURAL HISTORY NOTES NATURAL HISTORY NOTES Fig. 1. Plethodon dixi observed atop the southwestern ridgeline of Fort Lewis Mountain, in Virginia, USA.