Red Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Common Name: Red Backed Salamander
Scientific Name: Plethodon cinereus
Family: Plethodontidae – Lung-less Salamander family
Location: Canada and the United States of America
US Location: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia
Size: 2.25 – 4 in. (5.7 – 10 cm) total length

The Red Backed Salamander is found in damp areas of Northeastern USA and Southeastern Canada. Like all Plethodontid salamanders, they lack lungs. The salamander has two morphs or phases, a Red Backed phase and a Lead Backed phase. The lead-backed phase has more of a silver coloring on its back compared to the red-backed phase. The salamander is terrestrial and is often found under logs or other cover. Once it gets cold, the salamanders burrow deep underground.

The salamanders don’t have to lay their eggs in streams or ponds. They can lay them under logs or in other damp places. The eggs hatch directly into small salamanders, skipping a free ranging aquatic larval stage.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assess the Red Backed Salamander as Least Concern for Extinction. They have a wide range and a presumed common throughout it.