Eurycea

Eurycea
Brook Salamanders
Barton Springs Salamander (Eurycea sosorum)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Eurycea
Rafinesque, 1822
Synonyms

Spelerpes
Cylindrosoma
Saurocercus
Manculus
Typhlotriton
Typhlomolge
Septentriomolge
Belpsimolge
Notiomolge
Paedomolge
Haideotriton

Eurycea is a genus of salamanders, native to North America. These salamanders are commonly referred to as brook salamanders.

Taxonomy

The genus Eurycea was first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1822, with a specimen of the spotted-tail salamander, Eurycea lucifuga, from Kentucky. The taxonomy of the genus is somewhat confusing, as many of the species within it are poorly studied and are only found in very restricted ranges, or deep within subterranean caverns. Several species have even been described multiple times by different researchers, and several are often considered to be morphologically different enough to warrant being placed into their own genus. A recent taxonomic revision moved the Georgia Blind Salamander to this genus, which makes Haideotriton a synonym of Eurycea [1].

Many sources also refer to several species of the genus as cave salamanders, due to their choice of habitat, or as blind salamanders, due to their reduced eyes, or the antiquated term for aquatic salamanders, Triton. Most species are from very isolated localities, so bear the name of the place the first specimen was found.

Species

This genus is composed of the following 27 species:

Binomial Name and Author Common Name
Eurycea aquatica
Rose & Bush, 1963		 Brown-backed salamander
Eurycea bislineata
(Green, 1818)		 Northern two-lined salamander
Eurycea chamberlaini
Harrison & Guttman, 2003		 Chamberlain’s dwarf salamander
Eurycea chisholmensis
Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000		 Salado salamander
Eurycea cirrigera
(Green, 1831)		 Southern two-lined salamander
Eurycea guttolineata
(Holbrook, 1838)		 Three-lined salamander
Eurycea junaluska
Sever, Dundee & Sullivan, 1976		 Junaluska salamander
Eurycea latitans
Smith & Potter, 1946		 Cascade Caverns salamander
Eurycea longicauda
(Green, 1818)		 Long-tailed salamander
Eurycea lucifuga
Rafinesque, 1822		 Spotted-tail salamander
Eurycea multiplicata
(Cope, 1869)		 Many-ribbed salamander
Eurycea nana
Bishop, 1941		 San Marcos salamander
Eurycea naufragia
Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000		 Georgetown salamander
Eurycea neotenes
Bishop & Wright, 1937		 Texas salamander
Eurycea pterophila
Burger, Smith & Potter, 1950		 Fern bank salamander
Eurycea quadridigitata
(Holbrook, 1842)		 Dwarf four-toed salamander
Eurycea rathbuni
(Stejneger, 1896)		 Texas blind salamander
Eurycea robusta
(Longley, 1978)		 Blanco blind salamander
Eurycea sosorum
Chippindale, Price & Hillis, 1993		 Barton Springs salamander
Eurycea spelaea
(Stejneger, 1892)		 Grotto salamander
Eurycea tonkawae
Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000		 Jollyville Plateau salamander
Eurycea tridentifera
Mitchell & Reddell, 1965		 Comal blind salamander
Eurycea troglodytes
Baker, 1957		 Valinda Farms salamander
Eurycea tynerensis
Moore & Hughes, 1939		 Oklahoma salamander
Eurycea wallacei
(Carr, 1939)		 Georgia blind salamander
Eurycea waterlooensis
Hillis, Chamberlain, Wilcox & Chippindale, 2001		 Austin blind salamander
Eurycea wilderae
Dunn, 1920		 Blue Ridge two-lined salamander

External links

  • Frost, Darrel R. 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.2 (15 July 2008). Eurycea. Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. (Accessed: July 31, 2008).
  • AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2008. Berkeley, California: Eurycea. AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: July 31, 2008).


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