Red Salamander
Pseudotriton ruber (Latreille, 1801)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Subphylum | Vertebrata |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Order | Caudata |
| Family | Plethodontidae |
| Genus | Pseudotriton |
| Species | Pseudotriton ruber (Latreille, 1801) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglophile
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from 15 counties across four states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson, Madison, Marshall
- Georgia
- Dade, Walker
- Kentucky
- Carter, Edmonson, Estill, Grayson, Jackson
- Tennessee
- Blount, Cannon, Overton
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2022.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- United States
- N5 Secure
- Canada
- NNA
Subnational ranks
- New York
- S3 Vulnerable
- Louisiana
- SNR Unranked
- West Virginia
- SNR Unranked
- Pennsylvania
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- S5 Secure
- District of Columbia
- S3 Vulnerable
- Maryland
- S5 Secure
- Ohio
- SNR Unranked
- Mississippi
- S3 Vulnerable
- Indiana
- SH Possibly Extirpated
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- South Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Kentucky
- S5 Secure
- NJ
- SNR Unranked
- Florida
- S3 Vulnerable
- DE
- S3 Vulnerable
- North Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Alabama
- S5 Secure
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Cooper, J.E. & Cooper, M.R. 1968. Cave-associated herpetozoa II: salamanders of the genus Gyrinophilus in Alabama caves. National Speleological Society Bulletin 30: 19–24.
- Godwin, J.C. 2008. Biological inventory of the cave and karst systems of The Nature Conservancy's Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn, Alabama, USA. 40 pp.
- 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.
- Huntsman, B.M., Venarsky, M.P., Benstead, J.P. & Huryn, A.D. 2011. Effects of organic matter availability on the life history and production of a top vertebrate predator (Plethodontidae: Gyrinophilus palleucus) in two cave streams. Freshwater Biology 56: 1746–1760.
- 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.
- McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
- 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.
- Peck, S.B. 1995. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part II: The insects. National Speleological Society Bulletin 57: 1–19.
- Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & McGregor, S.W. 1992. Geologic, hydrologic, and biologic investigations in Arrowwood, Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and selected caves, Madison, County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 262 pp.
- 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.
- 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
Pseudotriton ruber (Latreille, 1801). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1986. https://cavebiology.org/species/pseudotriton-ruber/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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