Brook salamander

Brook salamanders are a genus, Eurycea, of salamanders native to North America.

Brook salamanders
Eurycea longicauda
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Subfamily: Hemidactyliinae
Genus: Eurycea
Rafinesque, 1822
Synonyms
  • Spelerpes
  • Cylindrosoma
  • Saurocercus
  • Manculus
  • Typhlotriton
  • Typhlomolge
  • Septentriomolge
  • Belpsimolge
  • Notiomolge
  • Paedomolge
  • Haideotriton

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 found only in very restricted ranges, or deep within caverns. Several species have even been described several times by different researchers, and some are often considered to be morphologically different enough to warrant being placed into their own genera.

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 these 32 species:

Binomial name and authorCommon name
Eurycea aquatica
Rose & Bush, 1963		Brown-backed salamander
Eurycea bislineata
(Green, 1818)		Northern two-lined salamander
Eurycea braggi
(Smith, 1968)
Eurycea chamberlaini
Harrison & Guttman, 2003		Chamberlain's dwarf salamander
Eurycea chisholmensis
Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000		Salado Springs salamander
Eurycea cirrigera
(Green, 1831)		Southern two-lined salamander
Eurycea guttolineata
(Holbrook, 1838)		Three-lined salamander
Eurycea hillisi
Wray, Means, and Steppan, 2017		Hillis's dwarf 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 nerea
(Bishop, 1944)		Spring grotto salamander
Eurycea paludicola
(Mittleman, 1947)		Western dwarf 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 sphagnicola
Wray, Means, and Steppan, 2017		Bog dwarf salamander
Eurycea subfluvicola
(Steffen, Irwin, Blair, and Bonett, 2014)		Ouachita streambed salamander
Eurycea tonkawae
Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000		Jollyville Plateau salamander
Eurycea troglodytes
Baker, 1957		Valdina 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

Diet

Eurycea eat a variety of small arthropods such as spiders, Armadillidiidae, and insects.[2] The food of larvae is at the same trophic level as the adults. E. cirrega, for example, eat isopods, chironomids, and copepods.[3]

Reproduction

Mating can occur from fall to spring.[3][4] Males use their premaxillary teeth to scratch the female during reproduction, most likely to release various pheromones.

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References
  1. "THE AMPHIBIAN TREE OF LIFE" (PDF). Digitalspy.amnh.org. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  2. "Brook Salamander - Waterman and Hill-Traveller's Companion". Naturealmanac.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. "Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  4. "Eurycea wilderae (Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  • 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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