Jemez Mountains Salamander

Plethodon neomexicanus are slim, elongated and short-legged salamanders. Females average 55.5 mm and males average 54.4 mm in length. They usually have 18-19 costal grooves and 19-20 trunk vertebrae (Williams 1973). Adults are brown with fine brassy-colored stippling dorsally (Stebbins 2003). Ventrally, the pigment is reduced to the extent that they almost appear transparent (Williams 1973). Young Plethodon neomexicanus have faint gray or brassy dorsal stripes. Molecular data indicate that these salamanders are mostly closely related to Plethodon larselli , the Larch Mountain salamanders (Stebbins 2003).

This species occurs in the Jemez Mountains of Los Alamos and Sandoval counties, New Mexico (Williams 1973). It is found in moss-covered rockslides, epecially on north-facing slopes and under bark and beneath logs in and near mixed forest of fir, spruce, aspen, and maple. It spends most of the time underground except during the summer rains, between June and August (Stebbins 2003).

As of 10 October 2013, Plethodon neomexicanus has had a federal listing of "Endangered" by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the full report is available here).

The Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to New Mexico in the United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss, is in rapid decline, and was placed on the IUCN Red List in 2013.