Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
Single word	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Pseudotriton ruber (Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Plethodontidae > Subfamily: Hemidactyliinae > Genus: Pseudotriton > Species: Pseudotriton ruber

Salamandra rubra Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801 "An. X", Hist. Nat. Rept., 4: 305. Type(s): Not stated, although likely originally in the MNHNP but not found. Type locality: "Les Etats Unis"; probably from near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; see Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 274, Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 48, and Pyron and Beamer, 2020, Zootaxa, 4838: 224–225.

Salamandra subfusca Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 351. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: Not stated, but in context presumably vicinity of Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Synonymy by Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 286; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 45.

Salamandra rubriventris Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 353. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: Not stated although in context presumably in the vicinity of Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Primary junior homonym of Salamandra rubriventris Daudin, 1803. Synonymy by Say, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 406; De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 80; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 45; Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 286; Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 89.

Triton ruber — Fitzinger, 1826, Neue Class. Rept.: 66;

Triton rubra — Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 208.

Molge rubra — Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph.: 185.

Pseudotriton subfuscus — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 60.

Mycetoglossus subfuscus — Bonaparte, 1839, Iconograph. Fauna Ital., 2 (Fasc. 26): unnumbered. From Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 89; not seen. Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 123, were not able to verify this entry.

Batrachopsis subfuscus — Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept.: 34.

Spelerpes rubra — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 45.

Pseudotriton ruber — Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 286.

Mycetoglossus ruber — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 45. Attributed to Bibron, presumably on the basis of a label or manuscript name.

Pseudotriton rubrum — Baird, 1851, in Heck (ed.), Icon. Encycl. Sci. Lit. Art, 2: 255.

Bolitoglossa rubra — Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 89.

Salamandra brevicauda Wied-Neuwied, 1865, Nova Acta Phys. Med. Acad. Caesar Leopold Carol., Halle, 32: 127. Type(s): Not known to exist. Type locality: "Pennsylvanien", USA. Synonymy by Dunn, 1926, Salamanders Fam. Plethodontidae: 274.

Spelerpes ruber — Cope, 1869, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 21: 107.

Amblystoma brevicauda — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 38.

Spelerpes ruber ruber — Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 27.

Geotriton rubra — Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 39.

Spelerpes ruber schencki Brimley, 1912, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 25: 139. Holotype: USNM 49679 according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 26. Type locality: "Sunburst [now Spruce], at an elevation of 3200 feet . . . . Haywood Co[unty].", North Carolina, USA.

Spelerpes schencki — Brimley, 1915, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 30: 198.

Eurycea rubra rubra — Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 20.

Eurycea rubra schencki — Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 20.

Pseudotriton ruber ruber — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 466.

Pseudotriton ruber schencki — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 467.

Pseudotriton ruber nitidus Dunn, 1920, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 33: 133. Holotype: MCZ 5649, by original designation. Type locality: "White Top Mountain, Mt., V[irgini]a., 4000 feet (under a log in woods)", USA.

Eurycea rubra — Fowler, 1925, Copeia, 145: 58.

Pseudotriton ruber vioscai Bishop, 1928, Occas. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 5: 247. Holotype: USNM 75057, by original designation. Type locality: "A spring run 10 miles west of Bogalusa, [Washington Parish,] L[ouisian]a.", USA.

Gyrinophilus warneri Sinclair, 1955, J. Tennessee Acad. Sci., 30: 133. Syntypes: Three larvae (disposition unknown). Type locality: Not stated; presumably near Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Nomen nudum. Brandon, 1966, Illinois Biol. Monogr., 35: 5, looked at the larvae and stated they were of Pseudotriton. Assigned arbitrarily to this synonymy on the basis of geography (DRF).

Pseudotriton ruber schenki — Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 26. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

English Names

Brownish Salamander (Salamandra subfusca [no longer recognized]: Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 107).

Olive-brown Salamander (Salamandra subfusca [no longer recognized]: Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 351).

Brown-spotted Salamander (Salamandra maculata [no longer recognize]: Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 351).

Red Triton (Pseudotriton ruber: Yarrow, 1876, List Skeletons and Crania: 40; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 194; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 22; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 27; Britcher, 1903, Proc. Onondaga Acad. Sci., Syracuse, 1: 120; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 69; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 152).

Red Lizard (Pseudotriton ruber: Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 69).

Spring Lizard (Pseudotriton ruber: Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 69).

Red Salamander (Salamandra rubriventris [no longer recognized]: Green, 1818, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 353)

Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber: Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 107; De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 76; Hallowell, 1858, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 3: 347 [as Pseudotriton ruber]; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 401; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 69; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 48; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 8; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 9; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 29; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 22; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 15; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 31; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 73; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 33).

Dunn's Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber nitidus: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 393).

Blue Ridge Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber nitidus: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 49; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 286; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 9; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 9; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 29; ; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 15; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 31; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 73; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 33).

Northern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 389; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 49; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 286; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 9; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 30; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 15; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 31; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 73; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 33).

Black-lipped Triton (Spelerpes schencki: Brimley, 1915, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 30: 6).

Brimley's Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber schencki: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 396).

Black-chinned Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber schencki: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 49; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 287; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 30; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 31; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 73; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 33).

Blackchin Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber schencki: Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 9; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 9; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 15).

Viosca's Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber vioscai: Carr, 1940, Univ. Florida Biol. Sci. Ser., 3: 50; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 399).

Southern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber vioscai: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 49; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 287; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 9; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 30; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 1; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 315; Powell, Conant, and Collins, 2016, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. North Am., 4th ed.: 73; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 33).

Distribution

USA from southern New York to northern Florida and west to eastern Ohio, central Kentucky (and adjacent southern Indiana) and southeastern Louisiana (not in Atlantic coastal plain).

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Delaware, United States of America - District of Columbia, United States of America - Florida, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Maryland, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - New Jersey, United States of America - North Carolina, United States of America - Ohio, United States of America - Pennsylvania, United States of America - South Carolina, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia

Endemic: United States of America

Comment

See accounts by Martof, 1975, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 167: 1–3, and Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 299–304. Hunsinger, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 860–862, provided a detailed account that summarized the biology and conservation literature. Raffaëlli, 2007, Les Urodèles du Monde: 173–174, provided brief accounts by subspecies. Wilson, 1973, HISS News J., 1: 21, provided a record for southern Indiana (Floyd county). See comments under Pseudotriton and Gyrinophilus for relevant literature. Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 230–231, provided brief accounts by subspecies, photographs, and map. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 122–123, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Folt, Garrison, Guyer, Rodriguez, and Bond, 2016, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 98: 97–110, reported on phylogeography, retaining subspecies as arbitrary descriptors of geographic variation but not as evolutionary entities. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 503–508, provided species and subspecies accounts, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map). Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 56, briefly discussed the missing paratypes of Pseudotriton ruber vioscai. and (p. 59–60) location of the holotype and paratypes of Spelerpes ruber schencki.

External links:

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For access to general information see Wikipedia
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To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
For additional information see AmphibiaWeb report
For information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
For information on distribution, habitat, and conservation see the Map of Life
For related information on conservation and images as well as observations see iNaturalist
For access to available specimen data for this species, from over 350 scientific collections, go to Vertnet.