Plethodon cinereus
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a small, hardy woodland salamander species in the family Plethodontidae. It is also known as the redback salamander, eastern red-backed salamander, or the northern red-backed salamander to distinguish it from the southern red-backed salamander (Plethodon serratus). The species inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces in Canada to Minnesota. It is one of 56 species in the genus Plethodon. Red-backed salamanders are notable for their color polymorphism and primarily display two color morph varieties ("red-backed" and "lead-backed"), which differ in physiology and anti-predator behavior.
The red-backed salamander is a small terrestrial salamander, 5.7–10.0 cm (2.2–3.9 in) in total length (including tail), which usually lives in forested areas under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris. It is one of the most numerous salamanders throughout its range.
As with all amphibians, the red-backed salamander has permeable skin. They also lack lungs, a condition which is an ancestral trait of the Plethodontidae... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red-backed Salamander sighting in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, based on 803 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 20 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.
March and October–November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red-backed Salamander in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against about 30% in January, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Red-backed 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Eastern Red-backed Salamander sightings, Shenandoah National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Acadia National Park (United States, about 40%) and Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 30%).
Same genus: Plethodon
The closest relatives of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (genus Plethodon, Woodland Salamanders) are White-spotted Slimy Salamander (about 30%) and Shenandoah Salamander (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Red-backed Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Shenandoah National Park (803 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.
