| Southern Redback Salamander | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| 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 |
|
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.
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.
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.