The epithet, richmondi, is in honor of its discoverer, Neil D. Richmond, who later succeeded M. Graham Netting as Curator of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[1] The natural habitat of P. richmondi is temperate forests, in which it prefers the slopes of valleys and ravines.

[1] Eggs of P. richmondi are laid in cracks and crevices and develop directly into juvenile salamanders without an intervening larval stage.

[1] The main threats facing the ravine salamander are degradation of its habitat, and some sub-populations have been destroyed by this.

However, it is a common species in its wide geographic range and occurs in several protected areas, and overall the population seems steady.