Eurycea lucifuga
cave salamander

Found throughout most of Kentucky, reaching up into the southwest tip of Ohio and into much of southern Indiana. From there, the range extends from the southern tip of Illinois, southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, the northeast tip of Oklahoma and the southeast tip of Kansas. The range also covers central and eastern Tennessee, the northern portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and extends up the border between the Virginias.

Most frequently found in the twilight zone of caves, but also occasionally under logs and rocks in the surrounding moist forests more than a kilometer away from the nearest cave (Conant and Collins, et. al, 1995, Petranka 1998). The twilight area of a cave is the area just inside the entrance where there is some light, but not enough for plants to grow (Taylor 1999).

Eurycea lucifuga is a slender, dull yellow, orange or bright reddish-orange salamander with a white or yellow belly. Its back, sides of the head, trunk and tail are covered with many small, irregular or rounded spots that rarely form dorsolateral rows. It has a very blunt snout with the largest part of their head right behind the eyes. E. lucifuga has a relatively long tail and long limbs with 5-4 toes, the hind ones being webbed at the base (Bishop, 1994). There are between 14 and 15 costal grooves (Conant and Collins, 1998).

Adults in this species are from 10-20 cm long (Petranka 1998). The sexes are, on average, the same size but distinguishable by details of the head. The males are noticeably swollen in the snout area by the nasolabial grooves and the cirri (small tabs of flesh that carry are more developed than in the females (Bishop, 1994). The juveniles will usually be a lighter ground color (yellow) and have a shorter tail (Conant and Collins, 1998). As the individual grows, the color will deepen and the tail will lengthen.

E. lucifuga uses its relatively long legs, flat toes, and prehensile tail to climb rocks.l (Conant and Collins, 1998 ).

E. lucifuga eat many kinds of invertebrates, including many kinds of insects, mites, ticks, isopods, earthworms, and other soft-bodied creatures. At least one study has found juvenile slimy salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus) in the stomachs of specimens of this species (Petranka, 1998). It has a baletoid tongue which it uses in combination with a short lunge to capture its prey, being able to fully extend the tongue in approximately 5.5 milliseconds (Deban 1996). They have long, angled vomerine teeth accompanied by parasphenoid teeth which form club-shaped patches (Bishop, 1994).

This species is endangered in Kansas, but currently has no federal status. Activities by humans in and around the caves in addition to groundwater pollution have been thought tobe the potential sources of the decline in populations (Collins, et. al, 1995).