Amphibians of Ohio

The spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The specific name is Latin from Greek, meaning the color of porphyry, a purple stone, and this salamander has also been called the purple salamander. It is found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. Although deforestation is a potential threat, it occurs in many protected areas... less ↑

The northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends... less ↑

The red back (or redback or red-backed) salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a small, hardy woodland salamander. It inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada to Minnesota. It is also known as the eastern red-backed salamander or the northern red back salamander to distinguish it from the southern red back salamander (Plethodon serratus). less ↑

The northern slimy salamander, Plethodon glutinosus, is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found through much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States, from New York, west to Illinois, south to Texas, and east to Florida, with isolated populations in southern New Hampshire and northwestern Connecticut. It is called "slimy" because it is capable of excreting a sticky, glue-like substance from its skin. It is also sometimes referred to as the viscid salamander, grey-spotted salamander,... less ↑

Desmognathus fuscus is an amphibian in the lungless salamander family. The species is commonly called the dusky salamander or northern dusky salamander to distinguish it from populations in the southern United States which form a separate species, the southern dusky salamander (D. auriculatus). It can be found in eastern North America from extreme eastern Canada in New Brunswick south into the panhandle of Florida and west to Louisiana. The size of the species' total population is... less ↑

The green salamander (Aneides aeneus) is a member of the lungless salamanders, family Plethodontidae. It is the only member of the Aneides genus that inhabits the Eastern United States (all other Aneides salamanders are found in the west). Rarely seen in the field, the green salamander is an extremely habitat-specific species that is seldom found away from its preferred surroundings: moist, shaded rock crevices. less ↑

The mud salamander or midland mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus diastictus) is a red salamander with black spots that inhabits swamps, bogs, and streams. It is often confused with the red salamander, but the mud salamander is distinguished by its dark eyes and short snout. It is indigenous to the eastern United States, but is currently an endangered species. Some states have programs to locate mud salamanders to try to keep the species alive. less ↑