THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY
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Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Fern Bank Salamander
Eurycea pterophila Burger, Smith, and Potter, 1950
yoor-EE-see-uh — ter-OH-fil-uh

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

(,   Museum Voucher) (,   Observation) (,   Literature Record), (,   Citizen Science), (  Fossil)
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Occurrences:; 214 Total; 187 Museum; 27 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its habitat preference.
Eurycea — Rafinesque (1822) intentionally used a mythological-sounding name, but its specific Greek meaning or derivation was not disclosed. So, while modern etymologists may connect Eurycea to Eurydice or Greek roots (eurys “broad”), Rafinesque himself treated it as a classical name without a defined origin.
pterophila — Derived from Greek roots: πτερόν (pteron) — “wing” or “feather”; φίλος (philos) — “loving” or “fond of”; “Lover of wings” or “fond of wings.” The name likely refers to this salamander's close association with caves and springs in the Edwards Plateau, where the presence of bats (winged animals) is notable. It may symbolically reference the species’ ecological affinity for habitats shared with or reminiscent of flying organisms.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Fern Bank Neotenic Salamander (Eurycea neotenes pterophila: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Fern Bank Salamander (Eurycea neotenes pterophila: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1950 Burger, W. Leslie, Hobart M. Smith, and Floyd E. Potter, Jr. Another neotenic Eurycea from the Edwards Plateau. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 63:51-58
1993 Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
2003 Wiens, John J., Paul T. Chippindale, and David M. Hillis. When are phylogenetic analyses misled by convergence? A case study in Texas cave salamanders. Systematic Biology 52(4):501-514
2009 Lucas, Lauren K., Zachariah Gompert, James R. Ott, and Chris C. Nice. Geographic and genetic isolation in spring-associated Eurycea salamanders endemic to the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. Conservation Genetics 10:1309-1319
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letter 13:1378-1389

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 10 August 2026 03:01 CT