---
title: "Pygmy Salamander"
description: "Desmognathus wrighti — Amphibians. The pygmy salamander (Desmognathus wrighti) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pygmy-salamander
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pygmy Salamander

> Desmognathus wrighti — Amphibians. The pygmy salamander (Desmognathus wrighti) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae.

- Scientific name: *Desmognathus wrighti*
- Category: `amphibians` (Amphibians)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 730
- Wikidata: [Q2212572](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2212572)
- iNaturalist taxon: [27411](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/27411)

## Names

- en: Pygmy Salamander
- es: Salamandra Pigmea
- fr: Desmognathe pygmée du Sud
- nl: Pygmy salamander

## Countries with the most observations

US (635)

## Summary

The pygmy salamander (Desmognathus wrighti) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States in the southern Appalachians in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Desmognathus wrighti is a member of the family Plethodontidae and is commonly known as the pygmy salamander.  As the name suggest the pygmy salamander is the smallest of the nineteen species in the genus Desmognathus.  D. wrighti undergoes direct development and does not have a free-living larval stage.  Only two other taxa in Desmognathus, D. aeneus and D. organi, exhibit direct development along with the pygmy salamander…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_salamander

## Photo

![Pygmy Salamander](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pygmy-salamander/medium.jpg)

Photo: Reuven Martin · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8831914

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pygmy-salamander?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).