Long-Tailed Salamander
Eurycea longicauda (Green, 1818)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Subphylum | Vertebrata |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Order | Caudata |
| Family | Plethodontidae |
| Genus | Eurycea |
| Species | Eurycea longicauda (Green, 1818) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglophile
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from 36 counties across six states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- DeKalb, Madison, Morgan
- Georgia
- Chattooga, Dade, Walker
- Illinois
- Adams, Johnson, Madison, Monroe, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Union
- Kentucky
- Caldwell, Carter, Edmonson, Elliott, Grayson, Hart, Jackson, Madison, Metcalfe, Ohio, Powell, Todd, Wayne, Whitley
- Missouri
- Jasper
- Tennessee
- Blount, Cannon, Fentress, Marion, Rhea, Sevier
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2022.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Ohio
- SNR Unranked
- Alabama
- S3 Vulnerable
- Indiana
- S4 Apparently Secure
- North Carolina
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Kentucky
- S5 Secure
- Virginia
- S5 Secure
- West Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Illinois
- SNR Unranked
- Georgia
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Arkansas
- SNR Unranked
- Kansas
- S2 Imperiled
- Delaware
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Oklahoma
- S2 Imperiled
- New York
- S2 Imperiled
- Missouri
- S5 Secure
- Mississippi
- S2 Imperiled
- Pennsylvania
- S5 Secure
- Maryland
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- S5 Secure
- New Jersey
- S2 Imperiled
- District of Columbia
- SNR Unranked
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
- Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
- Cooper, J.E. & Iles, A. 1971. The southern cavefish, Typhlichthys subterraneus, at the southeastern periphery of its range. Bulletin of the National Speleological Society 33: 45–49.
- Garman, S. 1889. Cave animals from southwestern Missouri. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 17: 225–240. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4632250.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1979. Caves and associated fauna of Eastern Kentucky, Volume 3. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 130 pp.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1980. Caves and associated fauna of the Western Kentucky coal field, Volume 2. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 114 pp.
- Lawson, K.M., Schotz, A.R., Jenkins, A.J., Armbruster, J.W., Black, C., Callahan, M., Goertzen, L., Hansen, C., Stephen, C.D.R., Werneke, D., Mendonca, M. & Molina, E. 2021. Planning level survey of Redstone Arsenal for at-risk species and ecologically significant communities. Environmental Management Division, U.S. Army Garrison, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 402 pp.
- Lewis, J.J. 2005. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
- Niemiller, M.L. & Miller, B.T. 2009. A survey of the cave-associated herpetofauna of the eastern United States with an emphasis on salamanders. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville, Texas, USA, Volume 1: 249–256.
- Niemiller, M.L. & Reeves, W.C. 2014. Predation by the stygophilic crayfish Cambarus tenebrosus on the salamander Pseudotriton ruber within a cave in Cannon County, Tennessee, USA. Speleolobiology Notes 6: 8–13.
- Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
- Peck, S.B. & Lewis, J.J. 1978. Zoogeography and evolution of the subterranean invertebrate faunas of Illinois and southeastern Missouri. National Speleological Society Bulletin 40: 39–63.
- Wallace, R.L. 1984. Biological survey report of Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 33 pp.
- Wallace, R.L. 1990. Biological survey report of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 34 pp.
- Wallace, R.L. 1990. Myhr Cave fauna. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 5 pp.
- Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
How to cite this account
Eurycea longicauda (Green, 1818). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1704. https://cavebiology.org/species/eurycea-longicauda/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.