Plethodon serratus

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Southern Redback Salamander

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Lissamphibia
Order:	Caudata
Family:	Plethodontidae
Genus:	Plethodon
Species:	P. serratus

Binomial name

Plethodon serratus
Grobman, 1944

Synonyms

Plethodon cinereus serratus
Grobman, 1944

The Southern Redback Salamander (Plethodon serratus) is a species of salamander native to the United States. It is found in four widely disjunct populations. One in central Louisiana; one in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma; one in central Missouri; and one from southeastern Tennessee, to southwestern North Carolina, western Georgia, and eastern Alabama. It is sometimes referred to as the Georgia Red-backed Salamander or the Ouachita Red-backed Salamander. It was once considered a subspecies of Redback Salamander, Plethodon cinereus.

[edit] Description

The Southern Redback Salamander is typically gray or black in color, with a red-brown fading stripe across the width of its back. It grows from 3 to 4 inches in length.

[edit] Behavior

Mostly nocturnal, it is often found under ground debris in moist forested areas. In dry seasons it moves closer to permanent water sources. Its primary diet is small arthropods and mollusks.