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.
Wehrle's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Eastern United States. It is named in honor of Richard White Wehrle (1852–1937), a jeweler, naturalist, and collector of the holotype.
The northern slimy salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.
Van Dyke's salamander is a small woodland salamander in the family Plethodontidae, the lungless salamanders. These animals breathe through their skin and are largely terrestrial. Compared to other salamanders in Plethodon it is relatively stocky with long legs. Usually associated with streams, seepages, and rock outcrops, it is endemic to Washington where it is found in a limited number of small, isolated populations.
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 valley and ridge salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States.
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 red-cheeked salamander, also known as the Jordan's salamander, Jordan's redcheek salamander, or Appalachian woodland salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
The Kiamichi slimy salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the United States, has a natural habitat of temperate forests, and is found over a small range. This nocturnal species is mainly threatened by habitat loss and was first described by Highton in 1989. It is rated as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The northern gray-cheeked salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae and endemic to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. It is closely related to the Red-cheeked salamander and the Red-legged salamander. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is found under moss, rocks, logs, and bark in cool, moist forests above 2500 feet. Especially found in spruce-fir forests. The Gray-cheeked Salamander commonly eats millipedes, earthworms, crane flies, spiders, and centipedes and less commonly eats ants, mites, and springtails. They eat spiders, moths, flies, beetles, bees, and snails. The male and female perform a courtship, where the male nudges the female with his snout, does a foot dance, then circles under the female and the two then walk together. Like other salamanders, they do not migrate or aggregate during breeding season. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Rich Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Ouachita Mountains in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Plethodon punctatus, commonly known as the Cow Knob salamander or white-spotted salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to high mountain forests on the border of Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. Nearly all occurrences are on Shenandoah Mountain, Nathaniel Mountain and Great North Mountain in George Washington National Forest. Cow Knob salamanders are a member of the P. wehrlei species complex, which includes many other Appalachian salamanders historically referred to Plethodon wehrlei.
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 Shenandoah salamander is a small, terrestrial salamander found exclusively in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The Shenandoah salamander inhabits a very small range of land on just three mountain peaks. Due to the small habitat range, interspecies competition, and climate change, the population of the Shenandoah salamander is vulnerable to extinction. Mitigating human effects on the habitat of the species will be essential in attempting to preserve and grow the population.
The Shenandoah Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae native to the eastern United States. It should not be confused with the Shenandoah salamander, which inhabits Shenandoah National Park, east of Shenandoah Mountain.
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.
The Yonahlossee salamander is a particularly large woodland salamander from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. The species is a member of the family Plethodontidae, which is characterized by being lungless and reproductive direct development. P. yonahlossee was first described in 1917 by E.R Dunn on a collection site on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. The common and specific name is of Native American origin, meaning “trail of the bear”. It is derived from Yonahlossee Road northeast of Linville, where the specimen was first described.
There are 14 species of amphibians and 5 species of reptiles known to occur in Mount Rainier National Park.
