The Austin blind salamander (''Eurycea waterlooensis'') is an endangered species of

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

in the family

Plethodontidae Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Barton Springs Barton Springs is a set of four natural water springs located at Barton Creek on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer. The largest spring, Main Barton Spring (also known as Partheni ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. Its name is derived from Waterloo, the original name of Austin. Austin blind salamanders, typically juveniles, have been observed at spring outlets. However, probably most of the population lives in subterranean cavities, and its total abundance is unknown, but it seems much less abundant than the sympatric

Barton Springs salamander The Barton Springs salamander (''Eurycea sosorum'') is an endangered lungless salamander. It is endemic to Texas, United States. It was first found in Barton Springs in Austin, but is now also known from other localities in the nearby Travis ...

(''E. sosorum''). It is a totally aquatic species that is

paedomorphic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compared ...

(does not metamorphose).

References

Cave salamanders Eurycea Amphibians of the United States Endemic fauna of Texas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA endangered species Amphibians described in 2001 {{Plethodontidae-stub