Updated: 01-31-2008
Spruce-fir moss spider - Microhexura montivaga - All areas of privately owned Grandfather Mountain at and above the 1,646-m (5,400-ft) contour, and all portions of the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina and the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, bounded to the north and to the south of the North Carolina/Tennessee state line by the 1,646-m (5,400-ft) contour, from the intersection of the 1,646-m (5,400-ft) contour with the State line north of Elk Hollow Branch, Avery County, North Carolina, and southwest of Yellow Mountain, Carter County, Tennessee, west to the 1,646-m (5,400-ft) contour at Eagle Cliff, Mitchell County, North Carolina. Within these areas, the primary constituent elements include (1) Fraser fir or fir-dominated spruce-fir forests at and above 1,646-m (5,400-m) in elevation, and (2) moderately thick and humid, but not wet, moss (species in the genus Dicranodontium, and possibly Polytrichum) and/or liverwort mats on rock surfaces that are adequately sheltered from the sun and rain (by overhang and aspect) and include a thin layer of humid soil and/or humus between the moss and rock surface.
Federal Register Reference: July6, 2001, Federal Register, 66:35547-35566.
| Common Name | Scientific name | Federal Status | Record Status |
| Vertebrate: | |||
| Allegheny woodrat | Neotoma magister | FSC | Current |
| Appalachian Bewick's wren | Thryomanes bewickii altus | FSC | Historic |
| Appalachian cottontail | Sylvilagus obscurus | FSC | Current |
| Bog turtle | Clemmys muhlenbergii | T (S/A) | Current |
| Carolina northern flying squirrel | Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus | E | Current |
| Eastern small-footed bat | Myotis leibii | FSC | Current |
| Hellbender | Cryptobranchus alleganiensis | FSC | Current |
| Mountain blotched chub | Erimystax insignis eristigma | FSC | Probable/potential |
| Northern saw-whet owl (Southern Appalachian population) | Aegolius acadicus pop. 1 | FSC | Current |
| Pygmy salamander | Desmognathus wrighti | FSC | Current |
| Red crossbill (Southern Appalachian) | Loxia curvirostra | FSC | Current |
| Southern Appalachian black-capped chickadee | Poecile atricapillus practicus | FSC | Current |
| Southern rock vole | Microtus chrotorrhinus carolinensis | FSC | Current |
| Southern water shrew | Sorex palustris punctulatus | FSC | Current |
| Virginia big-eared bat | Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus | E | Current |
| Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Southern Appalachian population) | Sphyrapicus varius appalachiensis | FSC | Current |
| Invertebrate: | |||
| Diana fritillary (butterfly) | Speyeria diana | FSC | Current |
| Grayson crayfish ostracod | Ascetocythere cosmeta | FSC | Historic |
| Regal fritillary (butterfly) | Speyeria idalia | FSC | Historic |
| Spruce-fir moss spider | Microhexura montivaga | E | Current |
| Vascular Plant: | |||
| Bent avens | Geum geniculatum | FSC | Current |
| Blue Ridge goldenrod | Solidago spithamaea | T | Current |
| Bog blue grass | Poa paludigena | FSC | Current |
| Butternut | Juglans cinerea | FSC | Current |
| Cuthbert turtlehead | Chelone cuthbertii | FSC | Current |
| Fraser fir | Abies fraseri | FSC | Current |
| Gray's lily | Lilium grayi | FSC | Current |
| Gray's saxifrage | Saxifraga caroliniana | FSC | Current |
| Heller's blazing star | Liatris helleri | T | Current |
| Large-leaved Grass-of-Parnassus | Parnassia grandifolia | FSC | Historic |
| Mountain bitter cress | Cardamine clematitis | FSC | Current |
| Roan False Goat's-beard | Astilbe crenatiloba | FSC | Historic |
| Roan mountain bluet | Hedyotis purpurea var. montana | E | Current |
| Spreading avens | Geum radiatum | E | Current |
| Tall larkspur | Delphinium exaltatum | FSC | Historic |
| Nonvascular Plant: | |||
| a liverwort | Plagiochila sullivantii var. sullivantii | FSC | Current |
| a liverwort | Sphenolobopsis pearsonii | FSC | Current |
| a liverwort | Plagiochila virginica var. caroliniana | FSC | Historic |
| Lichen: | |||
| Rock gnome lichen | Gymnoderma lineare | E | Current |
Definitions of Federal Status Codes:
E = endangered. A taxon "in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range."
T = threatened. A taxon "likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range."
C = candidate. A taxon under consideration for official listing for which there is sufficient information to support listing. (Formerly "C1" candidate species.)
BGPA =Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. See below.
FSC = federal species of concern. A species under consideration for listing, for which there is insufficient information to support listing at this time. These species may or may not be listed in the future, and many of these species were formerly recognized as "C2" candidate species.
T(S/A) = threatened due to similarity of appearance. A taxon that is threatened due to similarity of appearance with another listed species and is listed for its protection. Taxa listed as T(S/A) are not biologically endangered or threatened and are not subject to Section 7 consultation. See below.
EXP = experimental population. A taxon listed as experimental (either essential or nonessential). Experimental, nonessential populations of endangered species (e.g., red wolf) are treated as threatened species on public land, for consultation purposes, and as species proposed for listing on private land.
P = proposed. Taxa proposed for official listing as endangered or threatened will be noted as "PE" or "PT", respectively.
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGPA):
In the July 9, 2007 Federal Register( 72:37346-37372), the bald eagle was declared recovered, and removed (de-listed) from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered wildlife. This delisting took effect August 8,2007. After delisting, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) (16 U.S.C. 668-668d) becomes the primary law protecting bald eagles. The Eagle Act prohibits take of bald and golden eagles and provides a statutory definition of "take" that includes "disturb". The USFWS has developed National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines to provide guidance to land managers, landowners, and others as to how to avoid disturbing bald eagles. For mor information, visit http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/baldeagle.htm
Threatened due to similarity of appearance(T(S/A)):
In the November 4, 1997 Federal Register (55822-55825), the northern population of the bog turtle (from New York south to Maryland) was listed as T (threatened), and the southern population (from Virginia south to Georgia) was listed as T(S/A) (threatened due to similarity of appearance). The T(S/A) designation bans the collection and interstate and international commercial trade of bog turtles from the southern population. The T(S/A) designation has no effect on land management activities by private landowners in North Carolina, part of the southern population of the species. In addition to its official status as T(S/A), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the southern population of the bog turtle as a Federal species of concern due to habitat loss.
Definitions of Record Status:
Current - the species has been observed in the county within the last 50 years.
Historic - the species was last observed in the county more than 50 years ago.
Obscure - the date and/or location of observation is uncertain.
Incidental/migrant - the species was observed outside of its normal range or habitat.
Probable/potential - the species is considered likely to occur in this county based on the proximity of known records (in adjacent counties), the presence of potentially suitable habitat, or both.