NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Texas Blind Salamander
Eurycea rathbuni (Stejneger, 1896)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni) 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. This species resembles the olm, another stygofaunal salamander from Europe. Its body is less elongated than the olm's, and it has more digits on each limb: four on the front limbs and five on the back, while the olm has three and two respectively.
Wikipedia contributors, Texas blind salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:20.281799+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Eurycea rathbuni (Stejneger, 1896)
- Name authority
- (Stejneger, 1896)
- Common name
- Texas Blind Salamander
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Plethodontidae
- Genus
- Eurycea
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familyPlethodontidae Gray, 1850
- subfamilyHemidactyliinae Hallowell, 1856
- genusEurycea Rafinesque, 1822
- speciesEurycea rathbuni (Stejneger, 1896)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Eurycea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Two-lined SalamanderEurycea bislineata (Green, 1818) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Three-lined SalamanderEurycea guttolineata (Holbrook, 1838) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hillis's Dwarf SalamanderEurycea hillisi Wray, Means & Steppan, 2017 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-tailed SalamanderEurycea longicauda (Green, 1818) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cave SalamanderEurycea lucifuga Rafinesque, 1822 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurycea melanopleura (Cope, 1894) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| San Marcos SalamanderEurycea nana Bishop, 1941 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Texas SalamanderEurycea neotenes Bishop & Wright, 1937 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fern Bank SalamanderEurycea pterophila Burger, Smith & Potter, 1950 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dwarf SalamanderEurycea quadridigitata (Holbrook, 1842) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jollyville Plateau SalamanderEurycea tonkawae Chippindale, Price, Wiens & Hillis, 2000 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Oklahoma SalamanderEurycea tynerensis Moore & Hughes, 1939 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Typhlomolge rathbuni Stejneger, 1896 Stejneger, 1896 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=586343 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3D3HK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.