| Bog dwarf salamander | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Eurycea |
| Species: | E. sphagnicola |
| Binomial name | |
| Eurycea sphagnicola Wray, Means, and Steppan, 2017 | |
The bog dwarf salamander (Eurycea sphagnicola) is a species of salamander endemic to the southern United States. [2] [1]
It was previously thought to be a population of the southeastern dwarf salamander (E. quadridigitata) but a 2017 study found it to be a distinct species based on genetic evidence, and described it as E. sphagnicola. It is unlikely that any previous studies had analyzed populations of this species. [3]
It is the most divergent of the eastern species in the dwarf salamander complex, having diverged from the clade containing E. quadridigitata , E. hillisi , and E. chamberlaini during the late Oligocene to mid-Miocene, about 23-15 million years ago. [3]
It is found only in a small portion of the Gulf Coast of the United States, being found in the western Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama and Mississippi. It is likely the most geographically restricted of all species in the dwarf salamander complex. [4]
It is notable for its breeding habitats being restricted to mats of Sphagnum moss on acidic hillside seepage bogs. It breeds in sluggish but flowing water. [4]
The Texas blind salamander is a rare and endangered cave-dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, specifically the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer. This species resembles the olm, another stygofaunal salamander from Europe. Unlike the olm, this amphibian's body is not as elongated, and also has less reduced digits on its limbs.
The Cascade Caverns salamander, or Cascade Caverns neotenic salamander, is a species of aquatic salamander endemic to Cascade Caverns in Kendall County, Texas. Like other species of cave salamanders, they are almost entirely subterranean, living in spring waters deep in limestone rock strata, so gauging the exact extent of their geographic range or even their population numbers is virtually impossible. This also leads to reduced sampling for study, which has led to some uncertainty in the taxonomic classification; some sources consider all species of Texas cave salamanders to be subspecies of the Texas salamander. Eurycea neotenes and Eurycea rathbuni also live in caves and eat small insects and spiders.
The Valdina Farms salamander is a species of aquatic salamander described from Valdina Farms Sinkhole in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is sometimes referred to as the Valdina blind salamander or sinkhole salamander. As some other species of Eurycea found in Texas, it was once classified as a subspecies of the Texas salamander, Eurycea neotenes, and believed to possibly be the result of hybridization with another species of subterranean salamander, but was granted full species status in 2000. Research is ongoing, and some sources suggest the current species may actually be multiple distinct species.
The Comal blind salamander or Honey Creek Cave blind salamander is a small species of aquatic, lungless salamander native to the United States. It is endemic to a small region at the junction of Comal, Bexar and Kendall Counties in Texas. It is 1.5 to 3.0 in long, with a slender body and external gills, and is an overall translucent pink color.
The Blanco blind salamander is a species of aquatic, lungless salamander native to the United States. It is endemic to a small region of the Blanco River near San Marcos in Hays County, Texas. Its habitat, deep in limestone karst, makes collecting specimens for research particularly problematic. It is known from only a single specimen, collected in the 1950s.
The southeasterndwarf salamander, formerly known as the dwarf salamander, is a species of salamander native to the southern United States, ranging primarily from southern North Carolina south to northern Florida, with some populations from southwestern Alabama to eastern Louisiana. Some sources refer to it as the four-fingered manculus, dwarf four-toed salamander, or the Florida dwarf salamander.
Eurycea neotenes, also known as the Texas salamander, Bexar County salamander, Edwards Plateau salamander, or Texas neotenic salamander, is a species of entirely aquatic, lungless salamander native to the United States. It is endemic to central Texas, near Helotes, in Bexar County.
Chamberlain's dwarf salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater marshes.
The Salado Springs salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the vicinity of Salado, Texas.
Eurycea longicauda, commonly known as the long-tailed salamander or longtail salamander, is a species of lungless salamander native to the Appalachian Region of the eastern United States. It is a "cave salamander" that frequents twilight zones of caves and also inhabits springs and surrounding forest.
The fern bank salamander, also known as the Blanco River Springs salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to springs in the Blanco River watershed in central Texas, United States.
The Jollyville Plateau salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is also known as the Tonkawa Springs salamander. It is endemic to Travis and Williamson counties, Texas, United States. This species is perrenibranchiate, retaining its gills throughout life.
David Mark Hillis is an American evolutionary biologist, and the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor of Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is best known for his studies of molecular evolution, phylogeny, and vertebrate systematics. He created the popular Hillis Plot depiction of the evolutionary tree of life.
Dendragama is a genus of lizards in the family Agamidae. The genus is endemic to the Barisan Mountains in Sumatra (Indonesia) and is typically found at altitudes above 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Populations of Dendragama were discovered at the northern and southern ends of Sumatra. High genetic distances and concordance of multiple, apparently independent diagnostic characters support the descriptions of these two populations as new species. These species undergo remarkable color change in response to time of day and stress.
Tungao's slender skink is a species of skinks found in the Philippines, in the Scincidae family.
Hillis's dwarf salamander is a species of salamander endemic to the southern United States.
The western dwarf salamander is species of salamander native to the southern United States.
Bolitoglossa copinhorum, the Lenca mushroomtongue salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Honduras, and the species name recognizes the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH)'s environmental advocacy for the Lenca people that are indigenous to its habitat.
