Lungless salamander

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Lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) are distinguished from other families of salamanders by the following traits:

No lungs. They conduct respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouths.
Frequently no aquatic larval stage. In many species eggs are laid on land and young hatch already possessing an adult body form.
Naso-labial groove. A slit lined with glands between the nostril and upper lip, used for chemoreception.

Taxonomy

Plethodontidae includes many genera grouped under two subfamilies. Nearly four hundred species of plethodontid salamanders are known, making up the majority of known species . Only two of these species are found outside the Western hemisphere.

Subfamily Desmognathinae

Dusky salamanders (Desmognathus) - 19 species
Red Hills salamanders (Phaeognathus) - 1 species

Subfamily Plethodontinae

Climbing salamanders (Aneides) - 6 species
Slender salamanders (Batrachoseps) - 20 species
Mushroom tongued salamanders (Bolitoglossa) - 85 species
Finca Chiblac salamander (Bradytriton) - 1 species
Splay-foot salamanders (Chiropterotriton) - 12 species
Cryptic salamanders (Cryptotriton) - 6 species
Bromeliad salamanders (Dendrotriton) - 6 species
Ensatinas (Ensatina) - 1 species
North American brook salamanders (Eurycea) - 26 species
Spring salamanders (Gyrinophilus) - 4 species
Four toed salamanders (Hemidactylium) - 1 species
Web footed cave salamanders (Hydromantes) - 10 species
Korean crevice salamanders (Karsenia) - 1 species
Moss salamanders (Nototriton) - 13 species
Long limbed salamanders (Nyctanolis) - 1 species
Worm salamanders (Oedipina) - 23 species
Tropical dwarf salamanders (Parvimolge) - 1 species
Woodland salamanders (Plethodon) - 56 species
False brook salamanders (Pseudoeurycea) - 41 species
Red salamanders (Pseudotriton) - 2 species
Many-lined salamanders (Stereochilus) - 1 species
Minute salamanders (Thorius) - 22 species

Following a major revision in 2006 the genus Haideotriton was found to be a synonym of Eurycea while the genera Ixalotriton and Lineatriton were made synonyms of Pseudoeurycea

References

External links

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 04:24:57 PDT (GMT -0700)
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