Weller's Salamander

Weller's salamander has 16 coastal or costal grooves with light dorsal markings. The markings are usually dark gold in color with a metallic sheen. These are smaller salamanders, like most plethodontids, and have a slender body. They have 17 trunk vertebrae, which makes them the shortest of the eastern small plethodontids, and two to seven vomerin teeth that are located in series. These salamanders also have webbed toes. Males and females have differing visible genitalia for sex differentiation. Females have a simple slit, while males have a cloacal gland and papillae in the vent.

This species of plethodon salamander is a high-altitude species found in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Their range includes northwest North Carolina and portions of Tennessee and Virginia into which the mountains extend. However, these salamanders are restricted to a few counties in the mentioned states. The counties include Johnson and Unicoi Counties in Tennessee and Yancey County in North Carolina. The salamanders inhabit mountain areas, including Mt. Rodgers and the Whitetop Mountains in southwest Virginia, as well as the Unaka Mountain ridges in northeastern Tennessee and eastern North Carolina. These plethodons are found mainly in the highland areas around this mountain ridge. They inhabit spruce and birch forests that are heavily shaded. Some individuals were found in upper-level hardwood forests. The salamanders prefer habitats with cooler temperatures. These salamanders are generally found under logs, stones, and flat rocks in their preferred habitats.

They are insectivores that feed on insects, including pseudoscorpions, orb-weaver spiders, ticks and mites, springtails, true bugs, butterflies and moths, flies, and beetles.