Eurycea troglodytes
Baker, 1957
yoor-EE-see-uh — TROG-loh-DYE-teez
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
In reference to divergent populations of this species, Devitt et al. (2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116: 2624–2633) states "we recognize three species, two of them new." These species remain undescribed.
(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: - 0.04 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its cave-dwelling lifestyle.
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.
troglodytes — Greek trōglē = “hole” + dytes = “diver”; “Cave-dweller”
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1957
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Baker, James Kenneth. Eurycea troglodytes: A new blind cave salamander from Texas. Texas Journal of Science 9(3):328-336
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1966
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Baker, James Kenneth Eurycea troglodytes. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (23):1-2
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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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2003
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Wiens, John J., Paul T. Chippindale and David M. Hillis. When are phylogenetic analyses misled by convergence? A case study in Texas cave salamanders. Systematic Biology 52(4):501-514
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2009
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Lucas, Lauren K., Zachariah Gompert, James R. Ott, and Chris C. Nice. Geographic and genetic isolation in spring-associated Eurycea salamanders endemic to the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. Conservation Genetics 10:1309-1319
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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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2019
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Devitt, Thomas J., April M. Wright, David C. Cannatella, and David M. Hillis. Species delimitation in endangered groundwater salamanders: Implications for aquifer management and biodiversity conservation. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 116(7):2624–2633
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