Amphibians
Crevice Salamander
Plethodon longicrus · also called crevice salamanders
As surface conditions dry out on a southern Appalachian mountainside, a crevice salamander retreats deep into a crack between two boulders, relying on the same rock crevices that give the species its name to survive until damper conditions return.
Overview
The crevice salamander, Plethodon longicrus, is a lungless amphibian native to forested mountain habitat with abundant rock crevices and talus slopes across a narrow range of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Its close dependence on rock crevices for shelter, comparatively long legs, and naturally restricted range make it one of the more habitat-specialised narrow-range salamanders in the southern Appalachians.
A retreat built into its very name
When the forest floor dries out, the crevice salamander’s survival strategy is written directly into its common name, retreating into the very rock crevices that keep it damp enough to keep breathing through its skin.
Status
Near Threatened, present across suitable forested habitat with abundant rock crevices within its naturally narrow southern Appalachian range, with forest disturbance an ongoing risk given how limited that range is.
Crevice Salamander: common questions
Why does the crevice salamander need rock crevices specifically?
This species retreats deep into rock crevices and talus slopes during dry periods, using these spaces as a refuge from surface conditions that would otherwise dry out its skin, which it depends on entirely for breathing since this species, like all its close relatives, has no lungs at all.
Where is the crevice salamander found?
This species is known from a relatively narrow range within the southern Appalachian Mountains, favouring forested mountain habitat with abundant rock crevices and talus slopes, a naturally limited distribution that makes its populations more vulnerable to localised habitat disturbance than more widely distributed relatives.
Why is the crevice salamander considered near threatened?
This species depends on a naturally narrow range of forested habitat with abundant rock crevices, and logging or other significant forest disturbance within that limited range poses an ongoing risk given how little suitable habitat exists elsewhere for the species to fall back on.
What does the crevice salamander's scientific name refer to?
The species name longicrus references this species' comparatively long legs relative to other members of its genus, a feature that may help it navigate the uneven, rocky terrain of the crevices and talus slopes it depends on for shelter.