A lungless salamander with five toes and a projectile tongue has been discovered in the Appalachian mountains

A tiny new lungless salamander species, Urspelerpes brucei, has been discovered along nine different streams in the Appalachian mountains of north-east Georgia and north-west South Carolina. Measuring only 25-26mm when mature, the species is unusual in its sexually dimorphic colour patterns.

Unlike most other miniaturised plethodontid salamanders, which have four toes, Urspelerpes brucei retains the ancestral five toe condition. Adults of the "patch-nosed salamander" have been collected under rocks and in leaf litter along streams. Its jaw and tooth structure suggest that it uses a projectile tongue to capture small prey such as species of the related genus Eurycea.

International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University