Eurycea
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 Barton Springs Salamander
Eurycea sosorum |
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Spelerpes |
Eurycea is a genus of salamanders commonly referred to as Brook Salamanders, native to North America.
[edit] Taxonomy
The genus Eurycea was first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1822, with a specimen of 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 only found in very restricted ranges, or deep within subterranean caverns. Several species have even been described multiple times by different researchers, and several are often considered to be morphologically different enough to warrant being placed into their own genus. A recent taxonomic revision moved the Georgian Blind Salamander to this genus making 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.
[edit] Species
- Brown-backed Salamander, Eurycea aquatica (Rose and Bush, 1963)
- Northern Two-lined Salamander, Eurycea bislineata (Green, 1818)
- Chamberlain’s Dwarf Salamander, Eurycea chamberlaini (Harrison and Guttman, 2003)
- Salado Salamander, Eurycea chisholmensis Chippindale, Price, Wiens, and Hillis, 2000)
- Southern Two-lined Salamander, Eurycea cirrigera (Green, 1831)
- Three-lined Salamander, Eurycea guttolineata (Holbrook, 1838)
- Junaluska Salamander, Eurycea junaluska (Sever, Dundee, and Sullivan, 1976)
- Cascade Caverns Salamander, Eurycea latitans (Smith and Potter, 1946)
- Long-tailed Salamander, Eurycea longicauda (Green, 1818)
- Spotted-tail Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)
- Many-ribbed Salamander, Eurycea multiplicata (Cope, 1869)
- San Marcos Salamander, Eurycea nana (Bishop, 1941)
- Georgetown Salamander, Eurycea naufragia (Chippindale, Price, Wiens, and Hillis, 2000)
- Texas Salamander, Eurycea neotenes (Bishop and Wright, 1937)
- Fern Bank Salamander, Eurycea pterophila (Burger, Smith, and Potter, 1950)
- Dwarf Four-toed Salamander, Eurycea quadridigitata (Holbrook, 1842)
- Texas Blind Salamander, Eurycea rathbuni (Stejneger, 1896)
- Blanco Blind Salamander, Eurycea robusta (Longley, 1978)
- Barton Springs Salamander, Eurycea sosorum (Chippindale, Price, and Hillis, 1993)
- Grotto Salamander, Eurycea spelaea (Stejneger, 1892)
- Jollyville Plateau Salamander, Eurycea tonkawae (Chippindale, Price, Wiens, and Hillis, 2000)
- Comal Blind Salamander, Eurycea tridentifera (Mitchell and Reddell, 1965)
- Valinda Farms Salamander, Eurycea troglodytes (Baker, 1957)
- Oklahoma Salamander, Eurycea tynerensis (Moore and Hughes, 1939)
- Georgian Blind Salamander, Eurycea wallacei (Carr, 1939)
- Zilker Park Salamander, Eurycea waterlooensis (Hillis, Chamberlain, Wilcox, and Chippindale, 2001)
- Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander, Eurycea wilderae (Dunn, 1920)
[edit] References
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