Plethodon glutinosus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	CAUDATA	PLETHODONTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Plethodon glutinosus

Species Authority:

(Green, 1818)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Slimy Salamander

Taxonomic Notes:

Highton et al. (1989) recognized many species in this complex, but Petranka (1998) regarded recognition of these as premature and referred to all of them as Plethodon glutinosus.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Geoffrey Hammerson
Justification: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species can be found in the USA. Plethodon glutinosus complex: southern New Hampshire (disjunctive), western Connecticut, and New York south to central Florida, west to Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and south-central Texas (disjunctive) (Petranka 1998). Plethodon glutinosus sensu Highton et al. (1989): northeastern USA to central Illinois, south to central Alabama, central Georgia, western Virginia, northern Maryland, and central New Jersey.
Countries:	Native: United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Total adult population size is unknown but probably exceeds 100,000. There are hundreds of occurrences. In the southern Appalachians, populations fluctuated over a 20-year period (early 1970s to early 1990s), with no apparent long-term trend (Hairston and Wiley 1993).
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	There are wooded slopes, ravines, floodplains, shalebanks, and cave entrances; most often in hardwood forest, sometimes in pinelands. It is generally under or in rotting logs, stumps, or leaf-litter, or under rocks, during the day. Goes underground during dry or freezing weather. Eggs are laid in rotting logs, underground, or in rock crevices, where they develop directly without a larval stage.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Intensive harvest of mature forest greatly reduces salamander density in the logged area; population recovery occurs slowly (Herbeck and Larsen 1999). However, logging does not constitute a major threat to the security of the global population.

Major Threat(s):

Intensive harvest of mature forest greatly reduces salamander density in the logged area; population recovery occurs slowly (Herbeck and Larsen 1999). However, logging does not constitute a major threat to the security of the global population.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Maintenance of mature hardwood forest habitat is key to the long-term persistence of viable populations of this species (Petranka 1998).

Conservation Actions:

Maintenance of mature hardwood forest habitat is key to the long-term persistence of viable populations of this species (Petranka 1998).

Citation:	Geoffrey Hammerson 2004. Plethodon glutinosus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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