| Peaks Of Otter Salamander | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Plethodon |
| Species: | P. hubrichti |
| Binomial name | |
| Plethodon hubrichti Thurow, 1957 |
|
The Peaks of Otter salamander (Plethodon hubrichti) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family. It is endemic not only to the United States, but to the Peaks of Otter in Virginia. Its natural habitat is mixed hardwood forests with deep, rich soil and thick canopy cover, but it can also be found in rhododendron thickets, mixed pine and hardwood forests, and wooded talus slopes. The species is threatened due to timber harvesting in the Jefferson National Forest and the adjoining private property where it lives in and around Bedford County. The Blue Ridge mountains in the southeastern United States contain the greatest salamander biodiversity in the world. Peaks of Otter salamanders are dark brown to black with greenish or bronze flecking on the back. Some individuals sport white spots along the sides. They were first described in 1957.