Eurycea paludicola
(Mittleman, 1947)
yoor-EE-see-uh — puh-LOO-dih-koh-luh
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Elevated from the synonymy of E. quadridigitata by Wray et al. (2017, Herpetological Monographs 31: 18–46) based on phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear data from population-level sampling across the range of the nominal taxon.
(Pyron, R. Alexander, Christopher K. Beachy, David A. Beamer, and Kenneth M. Kozak. 2025. Caudata – Salamanders. Pages 10-21 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
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: - 0.33 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its swampy habitat.
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.
paludicola — Latin palus = “swamp” + -cola = “dweller”; “Swamp-dweller”
First instance(s) of published English names:
Dwarf Four-toed Salamander (Manculus quadridigitatus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1947
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Mittleman, M. Budd. American caudata. I. Geographic variation in Manculus quadridigitatus. Herpetologica 3(6):209-224
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1993
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Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
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2010
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Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letters 13:1378-1389
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2017
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Wray, K. P., D. B. Means, and S. J. Steppan. Revision of the Eurycea quadridigitata (Holbrook 1842) complex of Dwarf Salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Hemidactyliinae) with a description of two new species. Herpetological Monographs 31(1):18–46
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