Critically Endangered
Texas blind salamander
Eurycea rathbuni
The Texas blind salamander is a rare and endangered cave-dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, specifically the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer.
Appearance
The species has a broad, flat snout and head, and vestigial eyes beneath that are covered by skin.
The salamander's mature length is around 13 cm (5 in).
Range and habitat
Adults and immature larvae are well-adapted for living in underground streams or deep pools in caves, and many probably inhabit deep recesses that are not accessible to collectors. The Texas blind salamander is a rare and endangered cave-dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, specifically the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
The time of breeding is poorly documented. Very small juveniles have been found throughout the year, suggesting a seasonal breeding pattern.
Bechler (1988) observed one complete and two partial courtship bouts in captive specimens in that the female initiated courtship and the male remained passive initially. Courtship begins when the female approaches the male and rubs her chin on his dorsum.
In crisis
Populations of Texas blind salamander are sensitive to harsh changes in their environment. Continuous pumping of groundwater for commercial or domestic purposes leaves the salamanders vulnerable to predators and can eventually lead to their extinction. The salamanders were listed as an endangered species on March 11th, 1967, and their population status continues to be unstable.
Recovery plans are currently underway to help save the species. Other efforts to stabilize this population are public education on the effects of overconsumption of water and pollution.
Salamanders disappear when seeps are capped, caves are disturbed, or a pathogen moves through a mountain range.
Texas blind salamander is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Texas blind salamander, Wikidata item Q1499777. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
