Plethodontidae

"Lungless salamander" redirects here. For the lungless salamanders of East Asia, see Onychodactylus.

Lungless salamander
Temporal range: Oligocene–Present
California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Suborder: Salamandroidea
Family: Plethodontidae
Gray, 1850
Subgroups
Native distribution of plethodontids (in green)

Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders.[1][2] With over 500 species, lungless salamanders are by far the largest family of salamanders in terms of their diversity. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil. Only two extant genera occur in the Eastern Hemisphere: Speleomantes (native to Sardinia and mainland Europe south of the Alps) and Karsenia (native to South Korea).[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Frost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AmphibiaWeb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Lanza, B.; Vanni, S.; Nistri, A. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.