West Virginia spring salamander

[1][3] The salamander is only found in the General Davis Cave in Greenbrier County and lives in cave stream passages with large amounts of decaying organic matter.

[5]: 21–22, 33  A conservation easement for this cave has been purchased by The Nature Conservancy[6] and it is closed to the public in order to protect this salamander and a small bat colony.

It is not known how often metamorphosis occurs, but when it does, it happens after the larvae have reached a very large size.

[7] The IUCN estimates that fewer than 250 individuals of this species remain as of 2021.

[1] Possible future threats to the West Virginia spring salamander include development of the groundwater recharge area, interaction with spring salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) and the potential for introduction of salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) from Europe to the Americas.