The ravine salamander is a species 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...

 in the Plethodontidae family, which is endemic to the United States

United States

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

. The epithet (richmondi) is in honor of its discoverer, Neil D. Richmond, who later succeeded M. Graham Netting

M. Graham Netting

Maurice Graham Netting — known as M. Graham Netting — was a herpetologist, an early participant in the conservation and environmental movement, and a director of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.-Biography:...

 as Curator of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...

, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Geographic range

It is found in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, northwestern North Carolina, and northeastern Tennessee.

Description

Adult ravine salamanders are 7.5-11.5 cm (3-4½ inches) in total length. They have short limbs and are somewhat worm-like in appearance and movement. Dorsally and laterally they are dark brown or black, with silvery or brassy flecks. Ventrally, unlike other small plethodontids, they are dark brown or black.

Habitat

Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is temperate forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s, in which it prefers the slopes of valleys and ravines.