Southern red-backed salamander
Southern red-backed salamander | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Urodela |
Family: | Plethodontidae |
Subfamily: | Plethodontinae |
Genus: | Plethodon |
Species: | P. serratus
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Binomial name | |
Plethodon serratus Grobman, 1944
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Synonyms[2] | |
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The southern red-backed salamander (Plethodon serratus) is a species of salamander endemic to the United States.[2] 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.
Description[]
The southern red-backed salamander is typically gray or black in color, with a red-brown, fading stripe across the width of its back. It grows from 8 to 11 cm (3 to 4 in) in length.
Behavior[]
Mostly nocturnal, it is often found under ground debris in moist, forested areas. In dry seasons, it moves closer to permanent water sources. Its primary diet is small arthropods and mollusks.
References[]
- ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2014). "Plethodon serratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T59354A56338786. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T59354A56338786.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Plethodon serratus Grobman, 1944". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Plethodon
- Amphibians of the United States
- Endemic fauna of the United States
- Fauna of the Southeastern United States
- Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
- Amphibians described in 1944
- Lungless salamander stubs