# Plethodon

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:
| Species and author | Common name | Geographic range | NatureServe status |
| P. ainsworthi Lazell, 1998 | Ainsworth's salamander | Central Mississippi? (uncertain validity) | Possibly Extinct (GH) |
| P. albagula Grobman, 1944 | Western slimy salamander | South-central United States (Missouri southwest to central Texas) | Secure (G5) |
| P. amplus Highton & Peabody, 2000 | Blue Ridge gray-cheeked salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. angusticlavius Grobman, 1944 | Ozark zigzag salamander | Ozark Mountains (Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. asupak Mead, Clayton, Nauman, Olson & Pfrender, 2005 | Scott Bar salamander | Scott Bar Mountains (Siskiyou County, northern California) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. aureolus Highton, 1984 | Tellico salamander | Unicoi Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. caddoensis C. Pope & S. Pope, 1951 | Caddo Mountain salamander | Caddo Mountains (western Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. chattahoochee Highton, 1989 | Chattahoochee slimy salamander | Chattahoochee National Forest (northern Georgia) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. cheoah Highton & Peabody, 2000 | Cheoah Bald salamander | Cheoah Bald (Graham and Swain counties, southwest North Carolina) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. chlorobryonis Mittleman, 1951 | Atlantic Coast slimy salamander | Atlantic Coastal Plain (Virginia south to Georgia) | Secure (G5) |
| P. cinereus (J. Green, 1818) | Red-backed salamander | Northeast North America (Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to North Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| P. cylindraceus (Harlan, 1825) | White-spotted slimy salamander | Southeastern United States (Virginia west to easternmost Tennessee and south to South Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| P. dixi C. Pope & J. Fowler, 1949 | Dixie Cavern salamander | Roanoke County, southwest Virginia | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. dorsalis Cope, 1889 | Northern zigzag salamander | South-central United States (Indiana south to Alabama) | Secure (G5) |
| P. dunni Bishop, 1934 | Dunn's salamander | Pacific Coast (northwest California north to southwest Washington) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. electromorphus Highton, 1999 | Northern ravine salamander | Midwestern United States (western Pennsylvania south to central West Virginia and west to Indiana) | Secure (G5) |
| P. elongatus Van Denburgh, 1916 | Del Norte salamander | Pacific Coast (northwest California and southwest Oregon) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. fourchensis Duncan & Highton, 1959 | Fourche Mountain salamander | Fourche Mountain (Scott and Polk counties, western Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. glutinosus (J. Green, 1818) | 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) |
| P. grobmani Allen & Neill, 1949 | Southeastern slimy salamander | Southeastern United States (Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida) | Secure (G5) |
| P. hoffmani Highton, 1972 | Valley and ridge salamander | Appalachian Mountains (central Pennsylvania south to southwest Virginia) | Secure (G5) |
| P. hubrichti Thurow, 1957 | Peaks of Otter salamander | Peaks of Otter area (southwest Virginia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. idahoensis Slater & Slipp, 1940 | Coeur d'Alene salamander | Rocky Mountains (northern Idaho and surrounding areas of Montana and British Columbia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. jacksoni Newman, 1954 | Blacksburg salamander | Southwest Virginia and surrounding areas of North Carolina | Unranked (GNR) |
| P. jordani Blatchley, 1901 | Red-cheeked salamander or Jordan's salamander | Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. kentucki Mittleman, 1951 | Cumberland Plateau salamander | Cumberland Plateau area (West Virginia south to northeast Tennessee) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. kiamichi Highton, 1989 | Kiamichi slimy salamander | Kiamichi Mountains (Oklahoma, Arkansas) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. kisatchie Highton, 1989 | Louisiana slimy salamander | Northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. larselli Burns, 1954 | Larch Mountain salamander | Cascade Range (northern Oregon and southern Washington) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. meridianus Highton & Peabody, 2000 | South Mountain gray-cheeked salamander | South Mountains area (southwest North Carolina) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. metcalfi Brimley, 1912 | Southern gray-cheeked salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of South Carolina and Georgia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. mississippi Highton, 1989 | Mississippi slimy salamander | South-central United States (eastern Kentucky south to Alabama and west to Louisiana) | Secure (G5) |
| P. montanus Highton & Peabody, 2000 | Northern gray-cheeked salamander | Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. neomexicanus Stebbins & Riemer, 1950 | Jemez Mountains salamander | Jemez Mountains (north-central New Mexico) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. nettingi N.B. Green, 1938 | Cheat Mountain salamander | Allegheny Mountains (northeast West Virginia) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. ocmulgee Highton, 1989 | Ocmulgee slimy salamander | Central Georgia | Unranked (GNR) |
| P. ouachitae Dunn & Heinze, 1933 | Rich Mountain salamander | Ouachita Mountains (western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. pauleyi Felix, Wooten, Pierson & Camp, 2019 | Yellow-spotted woodland salamander | Cumberland Plateau (southern West Virginia southwest to northeast Tennessee) | Unranked (GNR) |
| P. petraeus Wynn, Highton & Jacobs, 1988 | Pigeon Mountain salamander | Pigeon Mountain (northwest Georgia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. punctatus Highton, 1972 | Cow Knob salamander | George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. richmondi Netting & Mittleman, 1938 | Ravine salamander | East-central United States (southwest Virginia west to Kentucky and Indiana and south to North Carolina) | Secure (G5) |
| P. savannah Highton, 1989 | Savannah slimy salamander | East-central Georgia | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. sequoyah Highton, 1989 | Sequoyah slimy salamander | Beavers Bend State Park (eastern Oklahoma) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. serratus Grobman, 1944 | Southern red-backed salamander | Southeastern United States (southwest North Carolina west to Missouri and Oklahoma and south to Louisiana) | Secure (G5) |
| P. shenandoah Highton & Worthington, 1967 | Shenandoah salamander | Shenandoah National Park (Page and Madison counties, northwestern Virginia) | Critically Imperiled (G1) |
| P. sherando Highton, 2004 | Big Levels salamander | Big Levels (Augusta County, northwestern Virginia) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. shermani Stejneger, 1906 | Red-legged salamander | Unicoi and Nantahala mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee and Georgia) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. stormi Highton & Brame, 1965 | Siskiyou Mountains salamander | Siskiyou Mountains (northern California and surrounding areas of Oregon) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. teyahalee Hairston, 1950 | Southern Appalachian salamander | Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. vandykei Van Denburgh, 1906 | Van Dyke's salamander | Western Washington | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. variolatus (Gilliams, 1818) | South Carolina slimy salamander | Atlantic Coastal Plain (South Carolina and Georgia) | Unranked (GNR) |
| P. vehiculum (Cooper, 1860) | Western redback salamander | Pacific Coast (Oregon north to British Columbia) | Secure (G5) |
| P. ventralis Highton, 1997 | Southern zigzag salamander | Southeastern United States (southwest Virginia southwest to Mississippi) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. virginia Highton, 1999 | Shenandoah Mountain salamander | George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) | Imperiled (G2) |
| P. websteri Highton, 1979 | Webster's salamander | Southeastern United States (South Carolina west to Mississippi) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. wehrlei H. Fowler & Dunn, 1917 | Wehrle's salamander | Appalachian Mountains (western New York south to West Virginia and western Virginia) | Apparently Secure (G4) |
| P. welleri Walker, 1931 | Weller's salamander | Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) | Vulnerable (G3) |
| P. yonahlossee Dunn, 1917 | 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.