Plethodon

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Hemphillian|recent|ref=}}

|image=Adult Female Plethodon cinereus.jpg

|image_caption=Red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

|taxon=Plethodon

|authority=Tschudi, 1838

| synonyms = {{genus list

| Sauropsis | Fitzinger, 1843

| Hightonia | Vieites, Román, Wake, and Wake, 2011 }}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

Plethodon is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are commonly known as woodland salamanders. All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and the United States). They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). Young hatch in the adult form. Members of Plethodon primarily eat small invertebrates. The earliest known fossils of this genus are from the Hemphillian of Tennessee in the United States.

Taxonomy

Plethodon is part of the family Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders) and the subfamily Plethodontinae. The genus Plethodon can be divided into two subgenera: the nominal subgenus Plethodon, which includes up to 49 eastern species (the bulk of diversity in the genus), and the subgenus Hightonia,{{Cite journal |last1=Vieites |first1=David R. |last2=Román |first2=Sandra Nieto |last3=Wake |first3=Marvalee H. |last4=Wake |first4=David B. |date=2011 |title=A multigenic perspective on phylogenetic relationships in the largest family of salamanders, the Plethodontidae |url=https://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/wake/373_multigenic_Plethodontidae.pdf |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=623–635 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.012 |pmid=21414414 |bibcode=2011MolPE..59..623V |issn=1055-7903}} which includes 9 species native to the western part of North America.

The eastern Plethodon subgenus can be further categorized into at least three major species groups which genetic analyses confirm to be clades:{{Cite journal |last=Highton |first=R |date=1995 |title=SPECIATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN SALAMANDERS OF THE GENUS PLETHODON |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.es.26.110195.003051 |journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=579–600 |doi=10.1146/annurev.es.26.110195.003051 |issn=0066-4162}}{{Cite journal |last1=Kozak |first1=Kenneth H |last2=Weisrock |first2=David W |last3=Larson |first3=Allan |date=2006-03-07 |title=Rapid lineage accumulation in a non-adaptive radiation: phylogenetic analysis of diversification rates in eastern North American woodland salamanders (Plethodontidae: Plethodon ) |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=273 |issue=1586 |pages=539–546 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3326 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=1560065 |pmid=16537124}}{{Cite journal |last1=Wiens |first1=John J. |last2=Engstrom |first2=Tag N. |last3=Chippindale |first3=Paul T. |date=2006 |title=Rapid diversification, incomplete isolation, and the "speciation clock" in North American salamanders (Genus Plethodon): Testing the hybrid swarm hypothesis of rapid radiation |url=http://w.wienslab.com/Publications_files/Wiens_et_al_pleth_Evol2006.pdf |journal=Evolution |volume=60 |issue=12 |pages=2585–3103 |doi=10.1554/06-138.1 |pmid=17263119 |issn=0014-3820}}{{Cite journal |last1=Kozak |first1=Kenneth H. |last2=Mendyk |first2=Robert W. |last3=Wiens |first3=John J. |date=2009 |title=Can Parallel Diversification Occur in Sympatry? Repeated Patterns of Body-Size Evolution in Coexisting Clades of North American Salamanders |url=http://w.wienslab.com/Publications_files/Kozak_et_al_2009.pdf |journal=Evolution |language=en |volume=63 |issue=7 |pages=1769–1784 |doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00680.x|pmid=19473404 |s2cid=3914496 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Alexander Pyron |first1=R. |last2=Wiens |first2=John J. |date=2011 |title=A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians |url=http://w.wienslab.com/Publications_files/Pyron_Wiens_MPE_2011.pdf |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=543–583 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012 |pmid=21723399 |bibcode=2011MolPE..61..543A |issn=1055-7903}}{{Cite journal |last1=Fisher-Reid |first1=M. Caitlin |last2=Wiens |first2=John J. |date=2011-10-13 |title=What are the consequences of combining nuclear and mitochondrial data for phylogenetic analysis? Lessons from Plethodon salamanders and 13 other vertebrate clades |url=http://wienslab.com/Publications_files/Fisher_Reid_Wiens_BMC_2011.pdf |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=300 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-11-300 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=3203092 |pmid=21995558|bibcode=2011BMCEE..11..300F }}{{Cite journal |last1=Highton |first1=Richard |last2=Hastings |first2=Amy Picard |last3=Palmer |first3=Catherine |last4=Watts |first4=Richard |last5=Hass |first5=Carla A. |last6=Culver |first6=Melanie |last7=Arnold |first7=Stevan J. |date=2012 |title=Concurrent speciation in the eastern woodland salamanders (Genus Plethodon): DNA sequences of the complete albumin nuclear and partial mitochondrial 12s genes |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790311005318 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=278–290 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.018|pmid=22230029 |bibcode=2012MolPE..63..278H }}

The Plethodon cinereus group, which contains the ubiquitous red-backed salamander and 9 other small, slender species (P. electromorphus, P. hoffmani, P. hubrichti, P. nettingi, P. richmondi, P. serratus, P. shenandoah, P. sherando, and P. virginia).
The Plethodon wehrlei group is a species complex centered on Wehrle's salamander and at least 4 of its close relatives (P. dixi, P. jacksoni, P. pauleyi, P. punctatus). Some of these species were only formally distinguished from P. wehrlei as recently as 2019.{{Cite journal |last1=Camp |first1=Carlos D. |last2=Pierson |first2=Todd W. |last3=Wooten |first3=Jessica A. |last4=Felix |first4=Zachary I. |date=2019-05-24 |title=Re-evaluation of the Wehrle's salamander (Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn) species group (Caudata: Plethodontidae) using genomic data, with the description of a new species |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4609.3.2 |journal=Zootaxa |language=en |volume=4609 |issue=3 |pages=429–448 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4609.3.2 |issn=1175-5334 |pmid=31717092 |s2cid=181533495}}
The Plethodon welleri group includes Weller's salamander and the three species of zigzag salamander (P. angusticlavius, P. dorsalis, P. ventralis). Many studies have argued that the wehrlei and welleri groups should be conceived of as one larger clade, the Plethodon wehrlei-welleri group.
The Plethodon glutinosus group is the largest species group within Plethodon, with around 30 species and several subordinate species complexes. Many species within this group (including the nominal species) are commonly known as "slimy salamanders", characterized by a large size, robust build and black-and-white coloration. Not all members of the Plethodon glutinosus group are labelled as slimy salamanders, and species delimitation among slimy salamanders and their close relatives is a subject of continued debate. For example, some studies interpret Plethodon grobmani and Plethodon mississippi to be junior synonyms of Plethodon glutinosus, based on a lack of genetic or anatomical distinctiveness.{{Cite journal |last1=Joyce |first1=Kathlene L. |last2=Hayes |first2=Malorie M. |last3=Potter |first3=Jacqueline |last4=Guyer |first4=Craig |date=2019-11-22 |title=Phylogeography of the Slimy Salamander Complex (Plethodon: Plethodontidae) in Alabama |url=https://bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-107/issue-4/CH-18-170/Phylogeography-of-the-Slimy-Salamander-Complex-Plethodon--Plethodontidae-in/10.1643/CH-18-170.full |journal=Copeia |volume=107 |issue=4 |pages=701 |doi=10.1643/CH-18-170 |s2cid=208942753 |issn=0045-8511}}{{Cite journal |last1=Guyer |first1=Craig |last2=Goetz |first2=Scott |last3=Folt |first3=Brian |last4=Joyce |first4=Kathlene |last5=Hayes |first5=Malorie |date=2019-11-22 |title=Variation in Head Shape and Color at the Range Boundary of Gulf Coastal Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus Complex), USA |url=https://bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-107/issue-4/CH-18-169/Variation-in-Head-Shape-and-Color-at-the-Range-Boundary/10.1643/CH-18-169.full |journal=Copeia |volume=107 |issue=4 |pages=694 |doi=10.1643/CH-18-169 |s2cid=208942734 |issn=0045-8511}}
One difficult-to-classify species is Webster's salamander, which may lie among the wehrlei-welleri group or the glutinosus group, or outside both groups, depending on the study.

List of species

As of 2024 there are up to 58 species in the genus Plethodon. Most are native to eastern and central North America, with the Appalachian Mountains having the highest diversity. Seven species live along the West Coast, one (P. idahoensis) in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, and one (P. neomexicanus) in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico.

All 58 Plethodon species listed in alphabetical order of specific name:

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!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Image

!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species and author

!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Common name

!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Geographic range

!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|NatureServe status

!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|IUCN status

|P. ainsworthi

|Ainsworth's salamander

|style="width:35%"|Central Mississippi? (uncertain validity){{Cite journal |last1=Himes |first1=John G. |last2=Beckett |first2=David C. |date=2013 |title=The Status of Plethodon ainsworthi Lazell: Extinct, Extant, or Nonexistent? |url=https://bioone.org/journals/southeastern-naturalist/volume-12/issue-4/058.012.0419/The-Status-of-Plethodon-ainsworthi-Lazell--Extinct-Extant-or/10.1656/058.012.0419.full |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=851–856 |doi=10.1656/058.012.0419 |s2cid=55019821 |issn=1528-7092}}

|Possibly Extinct (GH)

Plethodon

Taxonomy

List of species

Intrinsic Phylogeny

References