California Reptiles & Amphibians

Aneides flavipunctatus flavipunctatus - Speckled Black Salamander

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Range in California: Red

Green: Santa Cruz Black Salamander

Dot-locality Range Map

Large-spotted adult, Mendocino County

Underside of large-spotted adult, Mendocino County

Juvenile, Large-spotted form,
Mendocino County

Large-spotted adult, Mendocino County

Large-spotted sub-adult,
Mendocino County

Large-spotted adult from the inner Coast Range, Lake County
© John Stephenson

Three views of the same large-spotted juvenile from Mendocino County.

Large-spotted sub-adult,
Mendocino County

Solid black adult, Mendocino County

Lightly spotted adult and juvenile, coastal Mendocino County

Juvenile, solid black form, Mendocino County

Adult, frosted form, Humboldt County

Adult and juvenile, frosted form, Humboldt County

Sub-adult, frosted form, Humboldt County

Adult, frosted form, Humboldt County

Juvenile, frosted form, Humboldt County

Small-spotted adult, Shasta County

Adult, Tehama County © Ryan Henson

Fine-spotted adult, Siskiyou County

Fine-spotted adult, Siskiyou County
© 2004 Tim Burkhardt

Sub-adult, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

Adult, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

Underside of adult, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

Juvenile, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

The Black Salamander has toes with rounded tips. Compare with the Aneides vagrans, the Wandering Salamander, and Aneides ferreus, the Clouded Salamander, which have toes with squared-off tips.

Redwoods habitat, Humboldt County

Rock talus habitat, Siskiyou County

Habitat, Mendocino County

Streamside habitat, Humboldt county

Habitat, forest clearing,
Mendocino county

Creekside talus habitat,
Mendocino County

Habitat, Shasta County

Description

Size

Adults measure 2 - 3 3/4 inches long (5.1 - 9.5 cm) from snout to vent, and up to 5.5 inches (14 cm) total length.

Appearance

A medium sized plethodontid salamander, which breathes through thin moist skin instead of lungs. Dorsal coloring can be solid black, black with fine white specks, black with large white spots, black with pale yellow spots, black frosted with green or gray, or black with many small white spots, depending on the locality. The venter is greyish black. There are 14-16 costal grooves and two nasolabial grooves. Young are black with a brassy or greenish coloration and yellow at the base of the limbs. Males have a broader head than females.

Behavior

Lives in moist places on land. Adults forage for small invertebrates on the ground at night during wet weather. May be active along streams all year at the southern part of its range, but most stay underground during dry periods. Adapted for climbing with long toes and rounded tail, but mostly terrestrial.

Diet

Diet probably consists of a variety of small invertebrates.

Reproduction

Females lay and brood eggs on moist places on land in summer, but there is no published information on the breeding season or courtship behavior. Young hatch fully formed. Breeding males have a well-developed mental gland.

Range

Endemic to California and a small range in extreme southwest Oregon. Occurs from Sonoma county north along the coast and coast ranges to southwest Oregon in Jackson and Josephine Counties, east to near Mt. Shasta.

Habitat

Occurs in mixed deciduous woodland, lowland coniferous forests, coastal grasslands. Found under rocks near streams, in talus,
under damp logs, and other objects. Most common at low elevations, but found from near sea level to over 5,500 ft.
(1,700 meters.)

Taxonomic Notes

A. flavipunctatus occurs in two isolated regions. The southern population in the Santa Cruz region is recognized as the subspecies A. f. niger by some researchers, or A. niger by others. The group south of Mt. Shasta may also be isolated from populations to the west.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None

Taxonomy
Family	Plehodontidae	Lungless Salamanders
Genus	Aneides	Climbing Salamanders
Species	flavipunctatus	Black Salamander
Subspecies	flavipunctatus	Speckled Black Salamander
Original Description
Aneides flavipunctatus - (Strauch, 1870) - Mem. Acad. Sci. St. Petersburg, Ser. 7, Vol. 16, No. 4, p. 71 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Aneides: Greek - lacking form or shape. flavipunctatus: Latin - yellow spotted - refers to conspicuous white or yellow spots on dark background. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Aneides flavipunctatus - Black Salamander Aneides flavipunctatus - Speckled Black Salamander
Related or Similar California Salamanders
Santa Cruz Black Salamander Arboreal Salamander Wandering Salamander Clouded Salamander
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game AmphibiaWeb Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943. Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998. Corkran, Charlotte & Chris Thoms. Amphibians of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing, 1996. Jones, Lawrence L. C. , William P. Leonard, Deanna H. Olson, editors. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, 2005. Leonard et. al. Amphibians of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society, 1993. Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow, Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. This salamander is not included on the Special Animals List, meaning there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List