Common Name: Green Salamander
Scientific Name: Aneides aeneus
Family: Plethodontidae – Lungless Salamander family
Location: The United States – Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Maryland
Size: 3 – 5 inches (7.6 – 12.7 cm)
The Green Salamander is found in the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. It is the only member of its genus that is found in the eastern part of the US while the others are found in the West. They like to make their homes in rock crevices on cliffs or other rock outcrops. Males will defend their crevices from other males.
The breeding season lasts from May to September. Mating takes place in these crevices and the eggs are even laid there. Green Salamanders are direct developing so they don’t need a water source for their tadpoles. The female salamander will brood the eggs to protect them from predators.
The Green Salamander is listed as endangered in many states (Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, and Mississippi) and as Near Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. In other states, they are listed as threatened and protected species. Their preferred habitat is unique and not easily come by which is why they are close to being endangered. We need to protect these interesting salamanders.
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