Shenandoah Salamander

Plethodon shenandoah is among the most range-restricted vertebrates in eastern North America, confined to just three high-elevation talus slopes. This incredibly limited habitat makes the species highly vulnerable to environmental disturbances and climate change.

This federally endangered species is found exclusively within the boundaries of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. They live deep within the damp cracks of rocky talus slopes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As a member of the family Plethodontidae, the Shenandoah Salamander is entirely lungless. It respires directly through its moist skin and the lining of its mouth, requiring it to stay in consistently damp microclimates.

Its primary natural threat is competition with the larger, more aggressive red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). The Shenandoah salamander only survives because it is better adapted to the hotter, drier conditions of the talus slopes.