Clouded salamander

Last updated

Clouded salamander
Clouded Salamander, Aneides ferreus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Subfamily: Plethodontinae
Genus: Aneides
Species:
A. ferreus
Binomial name
Aneides ferreus
Cope, 1869

The clouded salamander (Aneides ferreus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Pacific Northwest. Its natural habitat is temperate forests and it is probable that many nest in trees. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Contents

Description

The clouded salamander can grow to about 5 inches (130 mm) total length. It is long and slim with relatively long legs, square ends to its toes and a prehensile tail. It has two naso-labial grooves joining its nostrils to its mouth and sixteen costal grooves down its flank. The upper side is pale grey variously blotched with gold, olive green or dull red. The juvenile has a brass-colored streak down the center of its back. [2]

Distribution and habitat

The clouded salamander is found in the Cascadian bioregion of North America at heights up to 1,700 metres (5,600 ft). Its range extends from the Columbia River southwards through the Cascade Mountains, along the Oregon coast to the northern tip of California in Del Norte County. It lives in forested areas favoring moist areas with few trees rather than dry dense stands. It hides under logs and rocks, under loose bark, in rotting logs and in crevices in rock and scree. It particularly favors rotting Douglas-fir logs. It is often common in newly cleared areas with tree stumps and debris. [2]

Biology

The clouded salamander feeds on small invertebrates, mainly woodlice, ants and beetles, but also include flies, termites, mites, centipedes, millipedes, spiders and pseudoscorpions. [3]

Breeding takes place in June and July with females laying clutches of nine to seventeen eggs, usually in chambers hollowed out in rotting logs. The larvae develop inside the eggs, emerging as juveniles in about two months, thus bypassing the free-living larval stage. One or both parents may provide care for the eggs before they hatch. [3]

Status

The clouded salamander is listed as least concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This salamander's favored microhabitat of tree stumps and coarse woody decaying debris are being replaced by changes in forestry practices. However, plans to conserve the spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) and the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) may help to reduce the decline in numbers of clouded salamanders. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern slimy salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The northern slimy salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Dyke's salamander</span> Species of amphibian

Van Dyke's salamander is a small woodland salamander in the family Plethodontidae, the lungless salamanders. These animals breathe through their skin and are largely terrestrial. Compared to other salamanders in Plethodon it is relatively stocky with long legs. Usually associated with streams, seepages, and rock outcrops, it is endemic to Washington where it is found in a limited number of small, isolated populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheat Mountain salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Cheat Mountain salamander is a species of small woodland salamander found only on Cheat Mountain, and a few nearby mountains, in the eastern highlands of West Virginia. It and the West Virginia spring salamander are the only vertebrate species with geographic ranges restricted to that state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speckled black salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The speckledblack salamander, previously known as just the black salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the U.S. state of California. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento Mountain salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Sacramento Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to mountainous regions of New Mexico in the United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests where it is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wandering salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The wandering salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It has a disjunct distribution, with one population being found in northern California in the United States, and another in British Columbia, Canada. It is a matter of debate whether this distribution is the result of human introductions or whether it has natural origins, with the latter conclusion being supported by more evidence. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss from logging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon slender salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Oregon slender salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae from the Northwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouachita dusky salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Ouachita dusky salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma in the United States. The specific epithet is in honor of Herbert Hutchinson Brimley and his younger brother, Clement Samuel Brimley, both of whom were zoologists.

Ixalotriton parva, the dwarf false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to a small mountainous area of Mexico where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. There is some doubt whether this species should be classified as Pseudoeurycea parva or Ixalotriton parva.

<i>Oedipina cyclocauda</i> Species of amphibian

Oedipina cyclocauda, commonly known as the Costa Rica worm salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found on the Caribbean slopes of northwestern Panama, eastern Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and northern Honduras. The specific name cyclocauda refers to the circular caudal grooves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Norte salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Del Norte salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the United States in southwestern Oregon and northwestern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourche Mountain salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Fourche Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the Ouachita Mountains in the central United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests and it is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Mountain salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Rich Mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Ouachita Mountains in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonahlossee salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Yonahlossee salamander is a particularly large woodland salamander from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. The species is a member of the family Plethodontidae, which is characterized by being lungless and reproductive direct development. P. yonahlossee was first described in 1917 by E.R Dunn on a collection site on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. The common and specific name is of Native American origin, meaning “trail of the bear”. It is derived from Yonahlossee Road northeast of Linville, where the specimen was first described.

Pseudoeurycea smithi, commonly known as Smith's false brook salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to certain mountainous regions of Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Thorius aureus, the golden thorius, is a species of salamander in the genus Thorius, the Mexican pigmy salamanders, part of the lungless salamander family. It is endemic to mountainous areas of north central Oaxaca State in Mexico. It is one of the largest Thorius species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The green salamander is a species of lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It and the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander are the only currently-described members of the genus Aneides that inhabit any areas in the eastern half of United States. Rarely seen in the field, the green salamander is an extremely habitat-specific species that is seldom found away from its preferred surroundings: moist, shaded rock crevices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shasta black salamander</span> Species of salamander

The Shasta black salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Shasta County in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Cruz black salamander</span> Species of salamander

The Santa Cruz black salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the U.S. state of California.

References

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Aneides ferreus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T59115A118988066. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Aneides ferreus - Clouded Salamander". CaliforniaHerps. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  3. 1 2 Staub, Nancy L.; Wake, David B. "Aneides ferreus". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2012-08-31.