Plethodon ventralis
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The southern zigzag salamander (Plethodon ventralis) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, freshwater springs, rocky areas, and caves.
Adult females lay their eggs in caves during the summer. It is threatened by habitat loss. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Zigzag Salamander sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 36 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Zigzag Salamander in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Zigzag Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all 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 Southern Zigzag Salamander sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Plethodon
The closest relatives of the Southern Zigzag Salamander that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Plethodon, Woodland Salamanders) are Red-cheeked Salamander (about 50%), Southern Red-backed Salamander (about 40%) and Northern Slimy Salamander (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Zigzag Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (52 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.
