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Eurycea is a genus of salamanders, native to North America. These salamanders are commonly referred to as brook salamanders.

The genus Eurycea was first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1822, with a specimen of the spotted-tail salamander, Eurycea lucifuga, from Kentucky. The taxonomy of the genus is somewhat confusing, as many of the species within it are poorly studied and are only found in very restricted ranges, or deep within subterranean caverns. Several species have even been described multiple times by different researchers, and several are often considered to be morphologically different enough to warrant being placed into their own genus. A recent taxonomic revision moved the Georgia Blind Salamander to this genus, which makes Haideotriton a synonym of Eurycea [1].

Many sources also refer to several species of the genus as cave salamanders, due to their choice of habitat, or as blind salamanders, due to their reduced eyes, or the antiquated term for aquatic salamanders, Triton. Most species are from very isolated localities, so bear the name of the place the first specimen was found.

Species

This genus is composed of the following 27 species:

External links

• Frost, Darrel R. 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.2 (15 July 2008). Eurycea. Electronic Database accessible at http ://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. (Accessed: July 31, 2008).
• AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2008. Berkeley, California: Eurycea. AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: July 31, 2008).