THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Junaluska Salamander
Eurycea junaluska Sever, Dundee, and Sullivan, 1976
yoor-EE-see-uh — joo-nuh-LUS-kah

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.20.59.18)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.03 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: North Carolina Tennessee

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a Cherokee leader.
Eurycea — Rafinesque (1822) intentionally used a mythological-sounding name, but its specific Greek meaning or derivation was not disclosed. So, while modern etymologists may connect Eurycea to Eurydice or Greek roots (eurys “broad”), Rafinesque himself treated it as a classical name without a defined origin.
junaluska — Named for Chief Junaluska, a Cherokee leader known for aiding Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1976 Sever, David M., Harold A. Dundee, and C. D. Sullivan. A new Eurycea (Amphibia: Plethodontidae) from southwestern North Carolina. Herpetologica 32:26-29
1983 Sever, David M. Eurycea junaluska. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (321):1-2
1993 Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letters 13:1378-1389

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:55 CT