Plethodon
Genus of amphibians
title: "Plethodon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["plethodon", "amphibian-genera", "taxa-named-by-johann-jakob-von-tschudi"] description: "Genus of amphibians" topic_path: "general/plethodon" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plethodon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of amphibians ::
| fossil_range = |image=Adult Female Plethodon cinereus.jpg |image_caption=Red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) |taxon=Plethodon |authority=Tschudi, 1838 | synonyms = {{genus list | Sauropsis | Fitzinger, 1843 | Hightonia | Vieites, Román, Wake, and Wake, 2011 }} | synonyms_ref =
Plethodon is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are commonly known as woodland salamanders. All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and the United States). They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). 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.
Taxonomy
Plethodon is part of the family Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders) and the subfamily Plethodontinae. The genus Plethodon can be divided into two subgenera: the nominal subgenus Plethodon, which includes up to 49 eastern species (the bulk of diversity in the genus), and the subgenus Hightonia, which includes 9 species native to the western part of North America.
The eastern Plethodon subgenus can be further categorized into at least three major species groups which genetic analyses confirm to be clades:
- The Plethodon cinereus group, which contains the ubiquitous red-backed salamander and 9 other small, slender species (P. electromorphus, P. hoffmani, P. hubrichti, P. nettingi, P. richmondi, P. serratus, P. shenandoah, P. sherando, and P. virginia).
- The Plethodon wehrlei group is a species complex centered on Wehrle's salamander and at least 4 of its close relatives (P. dixi, P. jacksoni, P. pauleyi, P. punctatus). Some of these species were only formally distinguished from P. wehrlei as recently as 2019.
- The Plethodon welleri group includes Weller's salamander and the three species of zigzag salamander (P. angusticlavius, P. dorsalis, P. ventralis). Many studies have argued that the wehrlei and welleri groups should be conceived of as one larger clade, the Plethodon wehrlei-welleri group.
- The Plethodon glutinosus group is the largest species group within Plethodon, with around 30 species and several subordinate species complexes. Many species within this group (including the nominal species) are commonly known as "slimy salamanders", characterized by a large size, robust build and black-and-white coloration. Not all members of the Plethodon glutinosus group are labelled as slimy salamanders, and species delimitation among slimy salamanders and their close relatives is a subject of continued debate. For example, some studies interpret Plethodon grobmani and Plethodon mississippi to be junior synonyms of Plethodon glutinosus, based on a lack of genetic or anatomical distinctiveness.
- One difficult-to-classify species is Webster's salamander, which may lie among the wehrlei-welleri group or the glutinosus group, or outside both groups, depending on the study.
List of species
As of 2024 there are up to 58 species in the genus Plethodon. Most are native to eastern and central North America, with the Appalachian Mountains having the highest diversity. Seven species live along the West Coast, one (P. idahoensis) in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, and one (P. neomexicanus) in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico.
All 58 Plethodon species listed in alphabetical order of specific name: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Species and author | Common name | Geographic range | NatureServe status | IUCN status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. ainsworthi | Ainsworth's salamander | Central Mississippi? (uncertain validity) | Possibly Extinct (GH) | [[File:Fl_mammals_ex.svg]] | |
| [[File:Plethodon albagula 168277235.jpg | 200px]] | P. albagula | Western slimy salamander | South-central United States (Missouri southwest to central Texas) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon amplus 157030770.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. amplus | Blue Ridge gray-cheeked salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon angusticlavius (Ozark Zigzag Salamander) (3679651745).jpg | 200px]] | P. angusticlavius | Ozark zigzag salamander | Ozark Mountains (Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon asupak.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. asupak | Scott Bar salamander | Scott Bar Mountains (Siskiyou County, northern California) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon aureolus (Stanton 3).jpg | 200x200px]] | P. aureolus | Tellico salamander | Unicoi Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon caddoensis 162754730.jpg | 200px]] | P. caddoensis | Caddo Mountain salamander | Caddo Mountains (western Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon chattahoochee 270018759.jpg | 200px]] | P. chattahoochee | Chattahoochee slimy salamander | Chattahoochee National Forest (northern Georgia) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Cheoah Bald Salamander imported from iNaturalist photo 5878362 on 20 April 2022.jpg | 200px]] | P. cheoah | Cheoah Bald salamander | Cheoah Bald (Graham and Swain counties, southwest North Carolina) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| [[File:Plethodon chlorobryonis 118850695.jpg | 200px]] | P. chlorobryonis | Atlantic Coast slimy salamander | Atlantic Coastal Plain (Virginia south to Georgia) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Eastern Red-backed Salamander - Plethodon cinereus, G. R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Linden, Virginia - Flickr - Judy Gallagher.jpg | 200px]] | P. cinereus | Red-backed salamander | Northeast North America (Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to North Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon cylindraceus 269771890.jpg | 200px]] | P. cylindraceus | White-spotted slimy salamander | Southeastern United States (Virginia west to easternmost Tennessee and south to South Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Dixie Caverns Salamander (Plethodon dixi).jpg | 200x200px]] | P. dixi | Dixie Cavern salamander | Roanoke County, southwest Virginia | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| [[File:Plethodon dorsalis 002.jpg | 200px]] | P. dorsalis | Northern zigzag salamander | South-central United States (Indiana south to Alabama) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon dunni 183149993.jpg | 200px]] | P. dunni | Dunn's salamander | Pacific Coast (northwest California north to southwest Washington) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon electromorphus 182055000.jpg | 200px]] | P. electromorphus | Northern ravine salamander | Midwestern United States (western Pennsylvania south to central West Virginia and west to Indiana) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon elongatus 134949411.jpg | 200px]] | P. elongatus | Del Norte salamander | Pacific Coast (northwest California and southwest Oregon) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon fourchensis 171429319.jpg | 200px]] | P. fourchensis | Fourche Mountain salamander | Fourche Mountain (Scott and Polk counties, western Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Northern Slimy Salamander - Plethodon glutinosus (49022625501).jpg | 200px]] | P. glutinosus | Northern slimy salamander | Eastern United States (Connecticut south to Georgia and west to Illinois and Alabama). Range extends to Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana according to some conceptions of the species. | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon grobmani.jpg | 200px]] | P. grobmani | Southeastern slimy salamander | Southeastern United States (Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon hoffmani 168500593.jpg | 200px]] | P. hoffmani | Valley and ridge salamander | Appalachian Mountains (central Pennsylvania south to southwest Virginia) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti).jpg | 200px]] | P. hubrichti | Peaks of Otter salamander | Peaks of Otter area (southwest Virginia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon idahoensis.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. idahoensis | Coeur d'Alene salamander | Rocky Mountains (northern Idaho and surrounding areas of Montana and British Columbia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon jacksoni.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. jacksoni | Blacksburg salamander | Southwest Virginia and surrounding areas of North Carolina | Unranked (GNR) |
| [[File:Plethodon jordani 1156554.jpg | 200px]] | P. jordani | Red-cheeked salamander or Jordan's salamander | Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Pkentuckiwv.jpg | 200px]] | P. kentucki | Cumberland Plateau salamander | Cumberland Plateau area (West Virginia south to northeast Tennessee) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon kiamichi 162325964.jpg | 200px]] | P. kiamichi | Kiamichi slimy salamander | Kiamichi Mountains (Oklahoma, Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon kisatchie 186707627.jpg | 200px]] | P. kisatchie | Louisiana slimy salamander | Northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon larselli 183148883.jpg | 200px]] | P. larselli | Larch Mountain salamander | Cascade Range (northern Oregon and southern Washington) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon meridianus 67602344.jpg | 200px]] | P. meridianus | South Mountain gray-cheeked salamander | South Mountains area (southwest North Carolina) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon metcalfi 145749131.jpg | 200px]] | P. metcalfi | Southern gray-cheeked salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of South Carolina and Georgia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon mississippi 176472351.jpg | 200px]] | P. mississippi | Mississippi slimy salamander | South-central United States (eastern Kentucky south to Alabama and west to Louisiana) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon montanus 273847659.jpg | 200px]] | P. montanus | Northern gray-cheeked salamander | Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. neomexicanus | Jemez Mountains salamander | Jemez Mountains (north-central New Mexico) | Critically Imperiled (G1) | [[File:Fl_mammals_en.svg]] | |
| [[File:Photo of the Week - Cheat Mountain Salamander (WV) (13432757184).jpg | 200px]] | P. nettingi | Cheat Mountain salamander | Allegheny Mountains (northeast West Virginia) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| [[File:Plethodon ocmulgee.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. ocmulgee | Ocmulgee slimy salamander | Central Georgia | Unranked (GNR) |
| [[File:Plethodon ouachitae 162325777.jpg | 200px]] | P. ouachitae | Rich Mountain salamander | Ouachita Mountains (western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon pauleyi.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. pauleyi | Yellow-spotted woodland salamander | Cumberland Plateau (southern West Virginia southwest to northeast Tennessee) | Unranked (GNR) |
| [[File:Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethodon petraeus) - Flickr - 2ndPeter.jpg | 200px]] | P. petraeus | Pigeon Mountain salamander | Pigeon Mountain (northwest Georgia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon punctatus 02 white background 1.jpg | 200px]] | P. punctatus | Cow Knob salamander | George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon richmondi on rock.jpg | 200px]] | P. richmondi | Ravine salamander | East-central United States (southwest Virginia west to Kentucky and Indiana and south to North Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Savannah Slimy Salamander.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. savannah | Savannah slimy salamander | East-central Georgia | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon sequoyah 171428541.jpg | 200px]] | P. sequoyah | Sequoyah slimy salamander | Beavers Bend State Park (eastern Oklahoma) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| [[File:Plethodon serratus 171428558.jpg | 200px]] | P. serratus | Southern red-backed salamander | Southeastern United States (southwest North Carolina west to Missouri and Oklahoma and south to Louisiana) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon shenandoah 62186.jpg | 200px]] | P. shenandoah | Shenandoah salamander | Shenandoah National Park (Page and Madison counties, northwestern Virginia) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| [[File:Plethodon sherando Augusta County, Virginia.jpg | 200px]] | P. sherando | Big Levels salamander | Big Levels (Augusta County, northwestern Virginia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon shermani 53538956.jpg | 200px]] | P. shermani | Red-legged salamander | Unicoi and Nantahala mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee and Georgia) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon stormi 33477528.jpg | 200px]] | P. stormi | Siskiyou Mountains salamander | Siskiyou Mountains (northern California and surrounding areas of Oregon) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon teyahalee 53422101.jpg | 200px]] | P. teyahalee | Southern Appalachian salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon vandykei 74040361.jpg | 200px]] | P. vandykei | Van Dyke's salamander | Western Washington | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon variolatus.jpg | 100px]] | P. variolatus | South Carolina slimy salamander | Atlantic Coastal Plain (South Carolina and Georgia) | Unranked (GNR) |
| [[File:Western Redback Salamander Plethodon vehiculum (7641775992).jpg | 200px]] | P. vehiculum | Western redback salamander | Pacific Coast (Oregon north to British Columbia) | Secure (G5) |
| [[File:Plethodon ventralis 354617767.jpg | 200px]] | P. ventralis | Southern zigzag salamander | Southeastern United States (southwest Virginia southwest to Mississippi) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:Plethodon virginia 583428091.jpg | 200x200px]] | P. virginia | Shenandoah Mountain salamander | George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) | Imperiled (G2) |
| [[File:Plethodon websteri 169631240.jpg | 200px]] | P. websteri | Webster's salamander | Southeastern United States (South Carolina west to Mississippi) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Plethodon wehrlei 227978399.jpg | 200px]] | P. wehrlei | Wehrle's salamander | Appalachian Mountains (western New York south to West Virginia and western Virginia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| [[File:A Weller's Salamander (Plethodon welleri) sitting on a broken log.jpg | 200px]] | P. welleri | Weller's salamander | Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| [[File:Yonahlossee salamander.jpg | 200px]] | P. yonahlossee | Yonahlossee salamander | Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| :: |
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Plethodon.
Intrinsic Phylogeny
|1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon larselli |2={{clade |1=Plethodon vandykei |2=Plethodon idahoensis }} }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon neomexicanus |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon vehiculum |2=Plethodon dunni }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon asupak |2={{clade |1=Plethodon stormi |2=Plethodon elongatus }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon serratus |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon virginia |2={{clade |1=Plethodon shenandoah |2=Plethodon cinereus }} }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon hoffmani |2={{clade |1=Plethodon nettingi |2={{clade |1=Plethodon hubrichti |2={{clade |1=Plethodon electromorphus |2=Plethodon richmondi }} }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon websteri |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon punctatus |2=Plethodon wehrlei }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon welleri |2={{clade |1=Plethodon angusticlavius |2={{clade |1=Plethodon dorsalis |2=Plethodon ventralis }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon petraeus |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon metcalfi |2=Plethodon montanus }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon amplus |2=Plethodon meridianus }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon chattahoochee |2={{clade |1=Plethodon chlorobryonis |2=Plethodon variolatus }} }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon glutinosus |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon cylindraceus |2=Plethodon teyahalee }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon aureolus |2=Plethodon cheoah }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon caddoensis |2={{clade |1=Plethodon ouachitae |2=Plethodon fourchensis }} }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon kentucki |2={{clade |1=Plethodon jordani |2={{clade |1=Plethodon yonahlossee |2={{clade |1=Plethodon shermani |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon mississippi |2=Plethodon kiamichi }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Plethodon sequoyah |2=Plethodon albagula }} |2={{clade |1=Plethodon kisatchie |2={{clade |1=Plethodon grobmani |2={{clade |1=Plethodon ocmulgee |2=Plethodon savannah }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} Intrinsic phylogeny tree of genus Plethodon.
References
References
- (2011). "A multigenic perspective on phylogenetic relationships in the largest family of salamanders, the Plethodontidae". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Highton, R. (1995). "SPECIATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN SALAMANDERS OF THE GENUS ''PLETHODON''". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics.
- (2006-03-07). "Rapid lineage accumulation in a non-adaptive radiation: phylogenetic analysis of diversification rates in eastern North American woodland salamanders (Plethodontidae: Plethodon )". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
- (2006). "Rapid diversification, incomplete isolation, and the "speciation clock" in North American salamanders (Genus Plethodon): Testing the hybrid swarm hypothesis of rapid radiation". Evolution.
- (2009). "Can Parallel Diversification Occur in Sympatry? Repeated Patterns of Body-Size Evolution in Coexisting Clades of North American Salamanders". Evolution.
- (2011). "A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- (2011-10-13). "What are the consequences of combining nuclear and mitochondrial data for phylogenetic analysis? Lessons from Plethodon salamanders and 13 other vertebrate clades". BMC Evolutionary Biology.
- (2012). "Concurrent speciation in the eastern woodland salamanders (Genus Plethodon): DNA sequences of the complete albumin nuclear and partial mitochondrial 12s genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- (2019-05-24). "Re-evaluation of the Wehrle's salamander (''Plethodon wehrlei'' Fowler and Dunn) species group (Caudata: Plethodontidae) using genomic data, with the description of a new species". Zootaxa.
- (2019-11-22). "Phylogeography of the Slimy Salamander Complex (Plethodon: Plethodontidae) in Alabama". Copeia.
- (2019-11-22). "Variation in Head Shape and Color at the Range Boundary of Gulf Coastal Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus Complex), USA". Copeia.
- (2013). "The Status of Plethodon ainsworthi Lazell: Extinct, Extant, or Nonexistent?". Southeastern Naturalist.
- "''Plethodon cinereus'' (Eastern Red-backed Salamander)".
- Frost, Darrel R.. (2020). "''Plethodon'' Tschudi, 1838". American Museum of Natural History.
- "''Plethodon'' Tschudi 1838". Fossilworks.
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2022). "''Plethodon cinereus''".
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