Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Plethodon cinereus
Redback Salamander

Vermilion Co., Illinois
March 12, 1996

My first Redback was from Washington County, Missouri, back in 1976.  Or so I thought, relying on my battered old copy of Conant's Field Guide.  That same year, these salamanders, along with isolated populations south and east, were renamed as Plethodon serratus, the Southern Redback Salamander, being of sufficient genetic difference from the 'other' Redbacks.

Trips to the nearby Middle Fork Preserve allowed me to once again find Redbacks for the first time.