The Western Slimy Salamander (Plethodon albagula) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

 found in two disjunct populations in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, one from Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 to Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, and another in south-central Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It is sometimes referred to as the Whitethroat Slimy Salamander, because it was once considered to be a subspecies of the Northern Slimy Salamander, Plethodon glutinosus

Plethodon glutinosus

The Northern Slimy Salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found through much of the eastern two thirds of the United States, from New York, west to Illinois, south to Texas, and east to Florida, with an isolated population in southern New Hampshire...

.

Description

The Western Slimy Salamander is typically black in color with white speckling. On some specimens the white speckling turns into large white blotches along the sides of the body. They have large bulbous eyes, and a long tail.

Behavior

Primarily nocturnal

Nocturnal animal

Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....

, it is commonly found under rocks, or other ground debris in moist wooded areas. Eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

 are laid in damp protected locations. The species has no aquatic larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

l stage.