Plethodon cylindraceus
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The white-spotted slimy salamander (Plethodon cylindraceus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the Eastern United States. It is one of 55 species in the genus Plethodon, and was one of the first to be described of its cogeners.
The preferred habitat of this species is under logs and leaf litter in shaded hardwood forests and wooded floodplains, and often forages on the forest floor on wet nights. It was found that with increasing temperatures, the aggression in this species also increases. In the plethodon genus, species have a lungless morphology, restricting nearly all gas and water exchange transport to the body surface. This species mainly consumes insects, including ants, centipedes, springtails, crickets, millipedes, slugs, snout-beetles, and earthworms. Common predators of this species are gartersnakes, copperheads, and birds. One of their predator defense mechanisms is the release of noxious/sticky substances through the skin by the dorsal granular glands. Another predator deterrent is when touched, this species will freeze in place and become immobile. This species of Plethodon are mostly terrestrial and deposit their direct-developing eggs on land that omits the aquatic larval stage characteristic of most amphibians, therefore this species is not restricted to aquatic habitats for reproduction and dispersal. This species, along with other Plethodontid salamanders, are frequently parasitized by Trombicula mites. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-spotted Slimy Salamander sighting in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, based on 90 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 20 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-spotted Slimy Salamander in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-spotted Slimy Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Shenandoah National Park, in our data
Shenandoah National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate White-spotted Slimy Salamander sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Plethodon
The closest relatives of the White-spotted Slimy Salamander that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (genus Plethodon, Woodland Salamanders) are Eastern Red-backed Salamander (about 60%) 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 White-spotted Slimy Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Shenandoah National Park (90 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.
