P. ruber include its defensive mechanisms. In regards to mating, males appear to not be aggressive towards one another, but do occasionally court other males as a means of sperm competition to get the other male to deposit spermatophores, giving them a better chance of successful mating over their competitors. When threatened, red salamanders assume a defensive posture in which they curl their bodies, elevating and extending their rears, and placing their heads under their tails which are elevated and undulated from side to side. The coloration of the red salamander has been hypothesized to mimic that of the red eft stage of the eastern newt (Notophythalmus viridescens) which emits a powerful neurotoxin in their skin. This phenomenon is known as the Mullerian Mimicry Complex. However, this hypothesis was heavily criticized due to significant size differences in the organisms and the differences in the species' times of foraging ( i.e. P. ruber mainly at night and the red eft mainly during the day). More recently, red salamanders have been noted to have reduced palatability, so they are considered part of a Müllerian mimicry system in which all species are unpalatable and benefit from aposematic coloration. Conservation Overall the red salamander is common and widespread, but locally it has declined because of habitat loss and it is listed as an endangered species in Indiana. The red salamander is arguably one of the most primitive plethodontids, so is extremely valuable in understanding the links to ancestors and the evolutionary processes that have occurred. Maintaining species diversity is an important part of conservation, and to prevent the loss of salamander diversity as a whole, it is important to have some type of management plan in place to prevent P. ruber from escalating from a low conservation status to a higher level of concern. Since the red salamander prefers streams that are relatively pure, it is important to monitor human waste and pollution, since debris and silt could have adverse effects on their habitat, potentially causing a threat to survival. References Pseudotriton Amphibians of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States Extant Pleistocene first appearances Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1801 Symbols of Virginia