Western slimy salamander

Western slimy salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Lissamphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Plethodon
Species: P. albagula
Binomial name
Plethodon albagula
Grobman, 1944
Synonyms

Plethodon glutinosus albagula
Grobman, 1944

The western slimy salamander (Plethodon albagula) is a species of salamander found in two distinct populations in the United States, one from Missouri to Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and another in south-central Texas. It is sometimes referred to as the whitethroat slimy salamander, because it was once considered to be a subspecies of the northern slimy salamander, Plethodon glutinosus.

Description

The western slimy salamander is typically black in color with white speckling. On some specimens, the white speckling turns into large, white blotches along the sides of their bodies. They have large, bulbous eyes and long tails.

Behavior

Primarily nocturnal, it is commonly found under rocks, or other ground debris in moist, wooded areas. Eggs are laid in damp protected locations. The species has no aquatic larval stage. They are a shy species of salamander and are not normally found of areas where humans frequent. They live in areas of high humidity levels.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.