| Northern grotto salamander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Recently-metamorphosed individual | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Eurycea |
| Species: | E. nerea |
| Binomial name | |
| Eurycea nerea (Bishop, 1944) | |
| Synonyms | |
Typhlotriton nerea | |
The northern grotto salamander (Eurycea nerea) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the south-central United States. [1] [2]
It is now considered a member of the genus Eurycea , but was originally described as Typhlotriton nereus. [3]
It was described in 1968, but was later synonymized with the grotto salamander (E. spelaea), but a 2017 study found substantial genetic differences between the clades classified in E. spelaea and once again split them into distinct species. It is thought to have diverged from the southern grotto salamander (E. braggi) during the Late Miocene. All three grotto salamanders are thought to descend from an ancestral surface-dwelling form. [3]
It is found in the southern Ozark Plateau of Missouri and adjacent portions of Arkansas. It is primarily found in the Salem Plateau and a small portion of the adjacent West Springfield Plateau. It inhabits freshwater springs (as a juvenile), inland karsts, and caves. [1] [3]
This is a troglobitic species that has evolved several troglomorphisms such as a pale coloration and reduced eyesight, much like E. spelaea. Alongside E. spelaea and E. braggi, it is the only blind, troglobitic salamander that undergoes full metamorphosis. [3] [4]
Brook salamanders are a genus, Eurycea, of salamanders native to North America.
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.
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.
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 Georgetown salamander, also known as the San Gabriel Springs salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to springs in Williamson County, Texas, near Lake Georgetown. It inhabits freshwater springs and, possibly, caves. It is threatened by habitat loss. Many of the springs where this species formerly lived have been destroyed by development, including creation of Lake Georgetown. The specific name refers to the few remaining remnants of habitat for this species.
The Tennessee cave salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Its natural habitats are streams in caves. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The West Virginia spring salamander is a species of troglobitic salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to West Virginia, the United States.
The western grotto salamander, also called the Ozark blind salamander and previously known as just the grotto salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. It is not currently threatened, but vulnerable to changes in groundwater quality and reduction in bat population.
Typhlichthys subterraneus, the southern cavefish, is a species of cavefish in the family Amblyopsidae endemic to karst regions of the eastern United States.
The spotted-tail salamander, also known as a "cave salamander", is a species of brook salamander.
A cave salamander is a type of salamander that primarily or exclusively inhabits caves, a group that includes several species. Some of these animals have developed special, even extreme, adaptations to their subterranean environments. Some species have only rudimentary eyes. Others lack pigmentation, rendering them a pale yellowish or pinkish color.
The Carolina Sandhills salamander, is a species of lungless salamander endemic to the state of North Carolina in the United States, where it is only found in the Sandhills region. These species are known for their coloration and ecology. Researchers decades ago separated the species into northern and southern groups and found that the southern and northern Sandhill salamanders differ in coloration, size, and natural history.
The bog dwarf salamander is a species of salamander endemic to the southern United States.
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.
The southern grotto salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to northern Arkansas in the United States.
Grotto salamander may refer to three species of troglobitic salamander in the genus Eurycea, all endemic to the United States and all of which were formerly considered a single species :