Blanco Blind Salamander

Open encyclopedia reference

The Blanco blind salamander (Eurycea robusta) is a species of aquatic, lungless salamander native to the United States. It is endemic to a small region of the Blanco River near San Marcos in Hays County, Texas. Its habitat, deep in limestone karst, makes collecting specimens for research particularly problematic. It is known from only a single specimen, collected in the 1950s. The Blanco blind salamander is considered a lost species with it being on Re:wilds Search For Lost Species initiative, as it is unknown whether it is still alive or not. Four specimens were discovered in 1951 by a gravel company digging in the dry bed of the Blanco River. Two were eaten by a heron, one was lost and the final specimen was sent to the University of Texas at Austin for research. Any extant members of the species are believed to live in the Edwards Aquifer. Researchers are using environmental DNA analysis to assess whether it still lives, but are hampered by the fact that no extant viable DNA samples exist.

Wikipedia contributors, Blanco blind salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:38:07.268510+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Eurycea robusta (Longley, 1978)

Name authority

(Longley, 1978)

Common name

Blanco 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderCaudata
10. familyPlethodontidae Gray, 1850
11. subfamilyHemidactyliinae Hallowell, 1856
12. genusEurycea Rafinesque, 1822
13. speciesEurycea robusta (Longley, 1978)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Eurycea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 371 records assigned to Plethodontidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=586344 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:3D3HL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.