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Sub-adult, Del Norte County, north of Rowdy Creek. |
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Adult, northern Del Norte County, light variation. © Alan Barron |
Adult, northern Del Norte County, dark variation. © Alan Barron |
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Underside of juvenile, northern Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
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Adult, Linn County, Oregon |
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Juvenile, Lane County, Oregon |
Toe tips are squared-off. Compare with the more rounded toe tips of Aneides flavipunctatus, the Black Salamander. |
Habitat, clearcut north of Rowdy Creek, Del Norte County |
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Habitat, Curry County, Oregon
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Smith River, Del Norte County |
Habitat, Del Norte County |
More pictures of this salamander and its natural habitat in Oregon are available on our Northwest Herps page.
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults measure 1 4/5 - 3 inches long (4.6 - 7.6 cm) from snout to vent, 3 - 5 inches (7.5 -13 cm) total length. |
| Appearance |
| A medium-sized plethodontid salamander which breathes through thin moist skin instead of lungs. Slim, long-legged, adapted for climbing with long squared-off toes and rounded prehensile tail. Usually 16 costal grooves and two nasolabial grooves. Males have broader, more triangular heads than females. Dark brown, to pale gray ground color, clouded with greenish gray, pale gold, or reddish blotches scattered with brassy flecks. Young have a copper or brassy dorsal stripe. |
| Behavior |
| Active on moist and rainy nights. One of the most arboreal salamanders in California, found up to 40 m. above ground. Often forage as sit-and-wait predators from beneath bark or logs. |
| Diet |
| Eats small invertebrates. |
| Reproduction |
| Breeding males have a well-developed mental gland. Eggs laid in moist places on land in Spring and early summer. Females may brood eggs. Young hatch fully formed. |
| Range |
| In California, occurs only in extreme northwest Del Norte County, then ranges north into Oregon along the coast and the Cascades to the Columbia River. |
| Habitat |
| Occurs in coastal forests of Douglas-fir, cedar, alder, and redwood, often at borders of clearings. From near sea level to 5,400 ft. (1,700 m.) Found under bark of standing or fallen dead trees, in rotten logs, under loose bark on the ground, under rocks, and in crevices in cliffs. Characteristically associated with large logs and talus. Often abundant in recently burned or logged areas having numerous stumps and large amounts of woody debris, and in areas where rock faces or talus provide deep cracks. May more commonly shelter under rocks or on rocky slopes than A. vagrans. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Formerly thought to range south to northwest Sonoma County until split into two species, A. ferreus and A. vagrans with A. ferreus occuring only in extreme northwest Del Norte County in California. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
| Genus |
Aneides |
Climbing Salamanders |
Species
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ferreus |
Clouded Salamander |
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Original Description |
Cope, 1869 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 21, p. 109
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Aneides: Greek - lacking form or shape
ferreus: Latin - iron colored; referring to dorsal mottling, clouded color phase.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Populations in California south of extreme northwest Del Norte County that were previously labelled as A. ferreus are now known to be a separate species, Aneides vagrans - Wandering Salamander.
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Related or Similar California Salamanders |
Speckled Black Salamander
Santa Cruz Black Salamander
Arboreal Salamander
Wandering Salamander
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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.
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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.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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