Plethodon jordani
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The red-cheeked salamander (Plethodon jordani), also known as the Jordan's salamander, Jordan's redcheek salamander, or Appalachian woodland salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
The red-cheeked salamander is a uniform steely grey colour with conspicuous red, orange or yellow patches on the side of the head. The imitator salamander (Desmognathus imitator) is thought to be a mimic and is very similar in appearance but has a pale line joining jaw to eye and more robust hind legs.
The red-cheeked salamander is found in mountainous areas of the southeastern United States. The main populations are along the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, but separate populations occur in Rabun County, Georgia. The altitude range is 210 to 1950 metres (700 to 6400 ft), but a few specimens are found below 600 metres (2,000 ft). Almost the whole altitude range occurs within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The red-cheeked salamander is a terrestrial species and is found in both hardwood and coniferous forests, particularly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-cheeked Salamander sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 955 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 36 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-cheeked Salamander in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and February, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-cheeked Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in our data
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Red-cheeked Salamander sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Plethodon
The closest relatives of the Red-cheeked Salamander that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Plethodon, Woodland Salamanders) are Southern Red-backed Salamander (about 40%), Northern Slimy Salamander (about 20%) and Southern Zigzag Salamander (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-cheeked Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (955 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
