''Eurycea neotenes'', also known as the Texas salamander, Bexar County salamander, Edwards Plateau salamander, or Texas neotenic salamander,Amphibian Species of the World: ''Eurycea neotenes''
/ref> is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of entirely aquatic,

lungless salamander Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. With over 500 species, lungless salamanders are by far the largest family of salamanders in terms of their diversity. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from B ...

native to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to central

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, near Helotes, in

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar County ...

Description

The Texas salamander grows from in length. It is brown in color, often with yellow or brown mottling, with light-yellow spotting down its back. It is

neotenic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny in modern humans is more signif ...

, with a slender body, short limbs, and bright-red external

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s. The Texas salamander lives in

caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock ...

, which resulted in reduced vision in its

eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

, due to the long period of time in darkness. It is akin to the Texas blind salamander '' Eurycea rathbuni''.

Diet

The Texas salamander has reduced vision or can be completely blind, which makes it difficult to hunt for food. It hunts by swishing its head side to side to create water pressure waves and sensing their prey break the still water. The Texas salamander typically preys on amphipods, blind shrimp (''Palaemonetes antrorum''), daphnia, small snails and other invertebrates.

References

* (2000): Phylogenetic relationships of central Texas hemidactyliine plethodontid salamanders, genus ''Eurycea'', and a taxonomic revision of the group. ''Herpetological Monographs'' 14: 1-80. * (2001): A new species of subterranean blind salamander (Plethodontidae: Hemidactyliini: ''Eurycea'': ''Typhlomolge'') from Austin, Texas, and a systematic revision of central Texas paedomorphic salamanders. ''Herpetologica'' 57: 266–280.
Herps of Texas: ''Eurycea neotenes''IUCN Red List: ''Eurycea neotenes''

neotenes ''Neotenes'' is a genus of moths belonging to the family Tortricidae. Species *'' Neotenes astromontana'' Diakonoff, 1972 *'' Neotenes canescens'' (Diakonoff, 1954) See also *List of Tortricidae genera This is a taxonomy of the moth family Tor ...

Blind animals Endemic fauna of Texas Cave salamanders Amphibians of the United States Amphibians described in 1937 {{Plethodontidae-stub