Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, mainland Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.
Plethodon is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are also known as woodland salamanders or, more rarely, slimy salamanders. All members of the genus are endemic to North America. They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as Plethodon cinereus, the red-backed salamander, eggs are laid underneath a stone or log. Young hatch in the adult form. Members of Plethodon primarily eat small invertebrates. The earliest known fossils of this genus are from the Hemphillian of Tennessee in the United States.
The red-backed salamander is a small, hardy woodland salamander species in the family Plethodontidae. It is also known as the redback salamander, eastern red-backed salamander, or the northern red-backed salamander to distinguish it from the southern red-backed salamander. The species inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces in Canada to Minnesota. It is one of 56 species in the genus Plethodon. Red-backed salamanders are notable for their color polymorphism and primarily display two color morph varieties, which differ in physiology and anti-predator behavior.
The southern red-backed salamander is a species of salamander endemic to the United States. It is found in four widely disjunct populations: one in central Louisiana; one in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma; one in central Missouri; and one from southeastern Tennessee, to southwestern North Carolina, western Georgia, and eastern Alabama. It is sometimes referred to as the Georgia red-backed salamander or the Ouachita red-backed salamander. It was once considered a subspecies of the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus.
The ocoee salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This salamander has a variety of colors and patterns, and got its name from Tennessee state wildflower. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater springs and wet rocks in mountainous areas of the Southeastern United States. It was first described by Nicholls in 1949. They are territorial and feed on small invertebrates. It is widely distributed in the southeastern United States and is listed as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The northern zigzag salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the eastern United States and has been found in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The northern zigzag salamander's natural habitat includes temperate forests, rocky areas, and caves. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Dunn's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the western United States.
The northern ravine salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The species is endemic to the United States.
The Fourche Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the Ouachita Mountains in the central United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests and it is threatened by habitat loss.
The Peaks of Otter salamander is a species of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Peaks of Otter area in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It is a montane salamander found at elevations above 442 m (1,450 ft), but more commonly above 760 m (2,490 ft). It can be locally common, but its distribution is small and patchy. This makes it vulnerable to local threats such as timber harvesting, recreational development, defoliation by gypsy moths, and spraying to control the latter.
The Cumberland Plateau salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Cumberland Plateau, the southeastern United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Larch Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the United States. It occurs in the Cascade Mountains of southern Washington and northern Oregon. In Washington, it occurs from the Columbia River Gorge to just north of Snoqualmie Pass. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The ravine salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The species is endemic to the United States, and it is threatened by habitat loss.
The Big Levels salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Virginia in the eastern United States. First described in 2004, it derives its specific name, sherando, from Sherando Lake in the George Washington National Forest. Its common name refers to the Big Levels area of southeastern Augusta County, Virginia, a series of flat to gently rolling mountain tops in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where it was found.
The southern zigzag salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States.
Weller's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other Plethodon species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas.
Pseudoeurycea mystax is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from the area of its type locality in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca near Ayutla, Oaxaca. Its common name is mustache false brook salamander or mustached false brook salamander. The specific name refers to the whitish protuberances on the lips that resemble a mustache in the frontal view of the male holotype.
