TEXAS BLIND SALAMANDER- Typhlomolge rathbuni

Description: The Texas blind salamander is smooth and unpigmented, appearing white. Their skin is translucent and the larger organs are visible through the sides and belly. The head is large and broad; eyes are reduced, visible by 2 dark spots deep beneath the skin representing vestigial eyes under the skin. The limbs are slender and long with four toes occurring on the fore legs and 5 toes occurring on the hind legs. The Texas blind salamander is of considerable scientific interest due to its uniqueness. It is the most advanced troglobitic (living only in caves) salamander known in the world today, displaying many adaptations toward total life in a cave. It may prove to be of considerable value in gauging water quality changes in the Edwards Aquifer.

Size: Three to four inches long.

Habitat: Edwards Aquifer in the San Marcos area. All collections of Texas blind salamanders have occurred in Hays County and according to the USFW distribution of this species may be limited to the Edward Aquifer beneath and near the City of San Marcos and an area as small as 25.9 square miles (USFW 1996). They have been observed in caves with access to the water table, traveling along submerged ledges within the aquifer. It is likely that they are sensitive to changes in water temperatures, preferring the thermally constant temperatures of the Edwards Aquifer.

Range: Caves, springs and well discharges of The San Marcos region of the Edwards Aquifer.