| ravine salamander | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Plethodon |
| Species: | P. richmondi |
| Binomial name | |
| Plethodon richmondi Netting & Mittleman, 1938 |
|
The ravine salamander (Plethodon richmondi) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family, which is endemic to the United States. The epithet (richmondi) is in honor of its discoverer, Neil D. Richmond, who later succeeded M. Graham Netting as Curator of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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It is found in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, northwestern North Carolina, and northeastern Tennessee.[1]
Adult ravine salamanders are 7.5-11.5 cm (3-4½ inches) in total length. They have short limbs and are somewhat worm-like in appearance and movement. Dorsally and laterally they are dark brown or black, with silvery or brassy flecks. Ventrally, unlike other small plethodontids, they are dark brown or black.[2]
Its natural habitat is temperate forests, in which it prefers the slopes of valleys and ravines.[3]
It is threatened by habitat loss.