Amphibians
Austin Blind Salamander
Eurycea waterlooensis · also called Austin blind salamanders
Beneath the popular swimming hole at Austin’s Barton Springs, in aquifer water far deeper than any bather ever sees, the Austin blind salamander drifts through total darkness, a species science did not even formally recognize until 2001.
Overview
The Austin blind salamander, Eurycea waterlooensis, is a permanently aquatic, cave-adapted salamander confined entirely to deep groundwater within the Barton Springs complex in Austin, Texas. Its total blindness, extraordinarily narrow range, and coexistence with a closely related but distinct spring-dwelling species make it one of the most range-restricted vertebrates in North America.
Two species, one spring
The Barton Springs complex hides two separate salamander species at once, the shallower-dwelling Barton Springs salamander and the deeper-dwelling, truly blind Austin blind salamander, a division scientists only fully worked out at the turn of the millennium.
Status
Endangered — confined entirely to the Barton Springs aquifer complex beneath the city of Austin, Texas.
Austin Blind Salamander: common questions
How is the Austin blind salamander different from the Barton Springs salamander?
Both species live within the same Barton Springs complex in Austin, Texas, but the Austin blind salamander occupies deeper aquifer water and has only vestigial, non-functional eyes, while the Barton Springs salamander is more often seen in the shallower spring pool itself and retains functional, if reduced, eyesight.
Why was the Austin blind salamander only described so recently?
Although its presence was long suspected, the Austin blind salamander was not formally described and named as its own distinct species until 2001, after genetic and morphological study confirmed it was separate from the more visible Barton Springs salamander sharing the same spring system.
Why is the Austin blind salamander endangered?
The species survives only within the Barton Springs aquifer complex in Austin, Texas, an extremely small range surrounded by a growing city, where groundwater pollution, aquifer depletion, and urban development all pose ongoing threats to the only water it can live in.
Does the Austin blind salamander ever leave the water?
No, this species retains feathery external gills and a fully aquatic lifestyle for its entire life, never undergoing the metamorphosis into a land-dwelling adult that many other salamander species eventually complete.