{{Short description|Genus of amphibians}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Hemphillian|recent|ref=<ref name=fossilworks/>}} |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 = <ref name=Frost/> }}
'''''Plethodon''''' is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are commonly known as '''woodland salamanders'''.<ref name=Frost/> All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and the United States).<ref name=Frost/> They have no aquatic larval stage. In some species, such as the red-backed salamander (''Plethodon cinereus'').<ref name=IUCN/> Young hatch in the adult form.<ref name=IUCN/> Members of ''Plethodon'' primarily eat small invertebrates.<ref name=adwPcinereus/> The earliest known fossils of this genus are from the Hemphillian of Tennessee in the United States.<ref name=fossilworks/>
== 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''''',<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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:<ref name=":0">{{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|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{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}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{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}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{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 }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{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}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{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 |page=300 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-11-300 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=3203092 |pmid=21995558|bibcode=2011BMCEE..11..300F }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{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 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* The '''''Plethodon cinereus''''' '''group''',<ref name=":0" /> 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<ref name=":0" />''' 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.<ref name="camp2019">{{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|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * The '''''Plethodon welleri'' group'''<ref name=":0" /> includes Weller's salamander and the three species of zigzag salamander (''P. angusticlavius, P. dorsalis, P. ventralis'')''.''<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> Many studies have argued that the ''wehrlei'' and ''welleri'' groups should be conceived of as one larger clade, the '''''Plethodon wehrlei-welleri'' group'''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> * The '''''Plethodon glutinosus'' group'''<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> 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.<ref name=":7">{{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 |page=701 |doi=10.1643/CH-18-170 |s2cid=208942753 |issn=0045-8511|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{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 |page=694 |doi=10.1643/CH-18-169 |s2cid=208942734 |issn=0045-8511|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * One difficult-to-classify species is Webster's salamander, which may lie among the ''wehrlei-welleri'' group<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> or the ''glutinosus'' group,<ref name=":6" /> or outside both groups,<ref name=":1" /> depending on the study.
==List of species== As of 2024 there are up to 58 species in the genus ''Plethodon''.<ref name="Frost" /> 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: {|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5 border=1 style="text-align: center; border-collapse: collapse;" !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'' {{small|Lazell, 1998}} |Ainsworth's salamander |style="width:35%"|Central Mississippi? (uncertain validity)<ref>{{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|url-access=subscription }}</ref> |Possibly Extinct (GH) |File:Fl_mammals_ex.svg |- | 200px |''P. albagula'' {{small|Grobman, 1944}} |Western slimy salamander |style="width:35%"|South-central United States (Missouri southwest to central Texas) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. amplus'' {{small|Highton & Peabody, 2000}} |Blue Ridge gray-cheeked salamander |Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_en.svg |- |200px |''P. angusticlavius'' {{small|Grobman, 1944}} |Ozark zigzag salamander |Ozark Mountains (Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. asupak'' {{small|Mead, Clayton, Nauman, Olson & Pfrender, 2005}} |Scott Bar salamander |Scott Bar Mountains (Siskiyou County, northern California) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_en.svg |- |200x200px |''P. aureolus'' {{small|Highton, 1984}} |Tellico salamander |Unicoi Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. caddoensis'' {{small|C. Pope & S. Pope, 1951}} |Caddo Mountain salamander |Caddo Mountains (western Arkansas) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. chattahoochee'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Chattahoochee slimy salamander |Chattahoochee National Forest (northern Georgia) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. cheoah'' {{small|Highton & Peabody, 2000}} |Cheoah Bald salamander |Cheoah Bald (Graham and Swain counties, southwest North Carolina) |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_vu.svg |- |200px |''P. chlorobryonis'' {{small|Mittleman, 1951}} |Atlantic Coast slimy salamander |Atlantic Coastal Plain (Virginia south to Georgia) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. cinereus'' {{small|(J. Green, 1818)}} |Red-backed salamander |Northeast North America (Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to North Carolina) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. cylindraceus'' {{small|(Harlan, 1825)}} |White-spotted slimy salamander |Southeastern United States (Virginia west to easternmost Tennessee and south to South Carolina) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. dixi'' {{small|C. Pope & J. Fowler, 1949}} |Dixie Cavern salamander |Roanoke County, southwest Virginia |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. dorsalis'' {{small|Cope, 1889}} |Northern zigzag salamander |South-central United States (Indiana south to Alabama) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. dunni'' {{small|Bishop, 1934}} |Dunn's salamander |Pacific Coast (northwest California north to southwest Washington) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. electromorphus'' {{small|Highton, 1999}} |Northern ravine salamander |Midwestern United States (western Pennsylvania south to central West Virginia and west to Indiana) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. elongatus'' {{small|Van Denburgh, 1916}} |Del Norte salamander |Pacific Coast (northwest California and southwest Oregon) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. fourchensis'' {{small|Duncan & Highton, 1959}} |Fourche Mountain salamander |Fourche Mountain (Scott and Polk counties, western Arkansas) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. glutinosus'' {{small|(J. Green, 1818)}} |Northern slimy salamander |Eastern United States (Connecticut south to Georgia and west to Illinois and Alabama). Range extends to Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana according to some conceptions of the species.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. grobmani'' {{small|Allen & Neill, 1949}} |Southeastern slimy salamander |Southeastern United States (Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida) |Secure (G5) | |- |200px |''P. hoffmani'' {{small|Highton, 1972}} |Valley and ridge salamander |Appalachian Mountains (central Pennsylvania south to southwest Virginia) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. hubrichti'' {{small|Thurow, 1957}} |Peaks of Otter salamander |Peaks of Otter area (southwest Virginia) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_vu.svg |- |200x200px |''P. idahoensis'' {{small|Slater & Slipp, 1940}} |Coeur d'Alene salamander |Rocky Mountains (northern Idaho and surrounding areas of Montana and British Columbia) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. jacksoni'' {{small|Newman, 1954}} |Blacksburg salamander |Southwest Virginia and surrounding areas of North Carolina |Unranked (GNR) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. jordani'' {{small|Blatchley, 1901}} |Red-cheeked salamander or Jordan's salamander |Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina border) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. kentucki'' {{small|Mittleman, 1951}} |Cumberland Plateau salamander |Cumberland Plateau area (West Virginia south to northeast Tennessee) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. kiamichi'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Kiamichi slimy salamander |Kiamichi Mountains (Oklahoma, Arkansas) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_vu.svg |- |200px |''P. kisatchie'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Louisiana slimy salamander |Northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. larselli'' {{small|Burns, 1954}} |Larch Mountain salamander |Cascade Range (northern Oregon and southern Washington) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. meridianus'' {{small|Highton & Peabody, 2000}} |South Mountain gray-cheeked salamander |South Mountains area (southwest North Carolina) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_en.svg |- |200px |''P. metcalfi'' {{small|Brimley, 1912}} |Southern gray-cheeked salamander |Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of South Carolina and Georgia) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. mississippi'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Mississippi slimy salamander |South-central United States (eastern Kentucky south to Alabama and west to Louisiana) |Secure (G5) | |- |200px |''P. montanus'' {{small|Highton & Peabody, 2000}} |Northern gray-cheeked salamander |Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- | |''P. neomexicanus'' {{small|Stebbins & Riemer, 1950}} |Jemez Mountains salamander |Jemez Mountains (north-central New Mexico) |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_en.svg |- |200px |''P. nettingi'' {{small|N.B. Green, 1938}} |Cheat Mountain salamander |Allegheny Mountains (northeast West Virginia) |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200x200px |''P. ocmulgee'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Ocmulgee slimy salamander |Central Georgia |Unranked (GNR) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. ouachitae'' {{small|Dunn & Heinze, 1933}} |Rich Mountain salamander |Ouachita Mountains (western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200x200px |''P. pauleyi'' {{small|Felix, Wooten, Pierson & Camp, 2019}} |Yellow-spotted woodland salamander |Cumberland Plateau (southern West Virginia southwest to northeast Tennessee) |Unranked (GNR) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. petraeus'' {{small|Wynn, Highton & Jacobs, 1988}} |Pigeon Mountain salamander |Pigeon Mountain (northwest Georgia) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. punctatus'' {{small|Highton, 1972}} |Cow Knob salamander |George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. richmondi'' {{small|Netting & Mittleman, 1938}} |Ravine salamander |East-central United States (southwest Virginia west to Kentucky and Indiana and south to North Carolina) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. savannah'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Savannah slimy salamander |East-central Georgia |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. sequoyah'' {{small|Highton, 1989}} |Sequoyah slimy salamander |Beavers Bend State Park (eastern Oklahoma) |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_dd.svg |- |200px |''P. serratus'' {{small|Grobman, 1944}} |Southern red-backed salamander |Southeastern United States (southwest North Carolina west to Missouri and Oklahoma and south to Louisiana) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. shenandoah'' {{small|Highton & Worthington, 1967}} |Shenandoah salamander |Shenandoah National Park (Page and Madison counties, northwestern Virginia) |Critically Imperiled (G1) |File:Fl_mammals_cr.svg |- |200px |''P. sherando'' {{small|Highton, 2004}} |Big Levels salamander |Big Levels (Augusta County, northwestern Virginia) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_vu.svg |- |200px |''P. shermani'' {{small|Stejneger, 1906}} |Red-legged salamander |Unicoi and Nantahala mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee and Georgia) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. stormi'' {{small|Highton & Brame, 1965}} |Siskiyou Mountains salamander |Siskiyou Mountains (northern California and surrounding areas of Oregon) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_en.svg |- |200px |''P. teyahalee'' {{small|Hairston, 1950}} |Southern Appalachian salamander |Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest North Carolina and surrounding areas of Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. vandykei'' {{small|Van Denburgh, 1906}} |Van Dyke's salamander |Western Washington |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |100px |''P. variolatus'' {{small|(Gilliams, 1818)}} |South Carolina slimy salamander |Atlantic Coastal Plain (South Carolina and Georgia) |Unranked (GNR) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. vehiculum'' {{small|(Cooper, 1860)}} |Western redback salamander |Pacific Coast (Oregon north to British Columbia) |Secure (G5) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. ventralis'' {{small|Highton, 1997}} |Southern zigzag salamander |Southeastern United States (southwest Virginia southwest to Mississippi) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200x200px |''P. virginia'' {{small|Highton, 1999}} |Shenandoah Mountain salamander |George Washington National Forest (West Virginia-Virginia border) |Imperiled (G2) |File:Fl_mammals_nt.svg |- |200px |''P. websteri'' {{small|Highton, 1979}} |Webster's salamander |Southeastern United States (South Carolina west to Mississippi) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. wehrlei'' {{small|H. Fowler & Dunn, 1917}} |Wehrle's salamander |Appalachian Mountains (western New York south to West Virginia and western Virginia) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |- |200px |''P. welleri'' {{small|Walker, 1931}} |Weller's salamander |Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) |Vulnerable (G3) |File:Fl_mammals_vu.svg |- |200px |''P. yonahlossee'' {{small|Dunn, 1917}} |Yonahlossee salamander |Blue Ridge Mountains (southwest Virginia south to the Tennessee-North Carolina border) |Apparently Secure (G4) |File:Fl_mammals_lc.svg |}
''Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Plethodon''.
==Intrinsic Phylogeny== {{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon larselli'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon vandykei'' |2=''Plethodon idahoensis'' }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon neomexicanus'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon vehiculum'' |2=''Plethodon dunni'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon asupak'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon stormi'' |2=''Plethodon elongatus'' }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon serratus'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon virginia'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon shenandoah'' |2=''Plethodon cinereus'' }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon hoffmani'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon nettingi'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon hubrichti'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon electromorphus'' |2=''Plethodon richmondi'' }} }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon websteri'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon punctatus'' |2=''Plethodon wehrlei'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon welleri'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon angusticlavius'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon dorsalis'' |2=''Plethodon ventralis'' }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon petraeus'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon metcalfi'' |2=''Plethodon montanus'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon amplus'' |2=''Plethodon meridianus'' }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon chattahoochee'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon chlorobryonis'' |2=''Plethodon variolatus'' }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon glutinosus'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon cylindraceus'' |2=''Plethodon teyahalee'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon aureolus'' |2=''Plethodon cheoah'' }} }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon caddoensis'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon ouachitae'' |2=''Plethodon fourchensis'' }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon kentucki'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon jordani'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon yonahlossee'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon shermani'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon mississippi'' |2=''Plethodon kiamichi'' }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Plethodon sequoyah'' |2=''Plethodon albagula'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon kisatchie'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon grobmani'' |2={{clade |1=''Plethodon ocmulgee'' |2=''Plethodon savannah'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} Intrinsic phylogeny tree of genus ''Plethodon''.<ref name=":4" />
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=adwPcinereus>{{Cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Plethodon_cinereus|title=''Plethodon cinereus'' (Eastern Red-backed Salamander)|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=Frost>{{cite web |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Caudata/Plethodontidae/Plethodontinae/Plethodon |title=''Plethodon'' Tschudi, 1838 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2020 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001 |access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=fossilworks>{{cite web |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=37390 |title=''Plethodon'' Tschudi 1838 |work=Paleobiology Database |publisher=Fossilworks |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>
<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn | author = IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |year=2022 |title= ''Plethodon cinereus'' |article-number=e.T59334A193391260 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T59334A193391260.en | access-date = 13 October 2020}}</ref>
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2256290}}
Category:Plethodon Category:Amphibian genera Category:Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi