Exotic Discovery: Texas Blind Salamander

Posted by C. Allen Thompson
Telophase II member.

If you want to talk about one of nature's most beautiful species, I can't think of one that pops out at me more than this beautiful creature.  Unfortunately, there are very few left in the wild.  In fact, their numbers have dwindled to under 1,150 left on earth.

The Texas Blind Salamander (Eurycea rathbuni) is a cave-dwelling troglobite (obviously, since it's blind and all) amphibian found only in the Edwards aquifer of San Antonio, Texas.  Its full nomenclature is Animalia Chordata Amphibia Caudata Plethodontidae Eurycea Rathbuni.

It's not a picky eater at all.  The Salamander will eat anything that wanders into its cave that's small enough to kill and eat - they've been known to eat blind shrimp and malacostracan crustaceans. 

The Texas Blind Salamander is extremely threatened, although, its classification doesn't seem very dire according to the IUCN 3.1, which ranks this creature at a mere VU, just one step up from endangered.  As I said before, there are less than 1,150 of them left, though they only populate a small region.  The species is threatened because of toxic dumping, development, and a increasingly scarce water supply, according to IUCN.

If things continue on their path, there could be none of them left by the year 2023.  Yes, extinction happens all the time, but when we're directly responsible for the extinction, it's our duty to reverse the process and help the creature.  Let us remember that every ecosystem is essential for our global climate, because every ecosystem depends upon another to survive.  Conserve water, keep a close eye on housing developments and where they land, and report toxic dumping and vote on legislation to increase fines on dumping detrimental to human and animal health.  If we all work together, we can accomplish the world (literally).