California Reptiles & Amphibians

Aneides lugubris - Arboreal Salamander



Click on a picture for a larger view





Range in California: Red

Dot-locality Range Map.






Adult, Contra Costa County
Juvenile, Santa Cruz County
 
Adult, Contra Costa County
 
Adult, Contra Costa County (missing the tip of its tail)
Adult male, Monterey County sand dunes
Adult, found on a building in downtown San Francisco, San Francisco County
© Jackson Shedd
Adult, Santa Cruz County
Adult active at night in situ, Marin County
Adult active at night in situ, Marin County
Adult active at night in situ, Marin County
Juvenile active at night in situ, Marin County
Adult emerging at night from a crevice
Adult, Alameda County
Adult, Alameda County
Adult, Mendocino County
Adult, Orange County
© Jason Jones
Juvenile, Santa Cruz County
© Brad Alexander
Adult, San Luis Obispo county,
© Andrew Harmer
Adult, San Luis Obispo County
© Henk Wallays
Adult, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Tuolumne County © Rick Staub
During the dry season, Arboreal Salamanders seek out cool moist areas underground or in trees to rest until the rainy season. Eric Boyer discovered this large group of estivating adult and juvenile Arboreal salamanders underneath some wood while remodeling a backyard in Santa Barbara County in June. © Eric Boyer
Albino or pigmentless adult, found with the normal adult shown above on the left, Contra Costa County. © 2006 John Schilling
   
 
Toes adapted for climbing
 
Habitat
Typical oak woodland habitat,
Contra Costa County

A careful look underneath the fallen bark of this dead tree turned up one Arboreal Salamander, two Coast Range Newts, one Yellow-eyed Ensatina, and 12 California Slender Salamanders, illustrating how dead wood and bark on a forest floor is an important microhabitat for salamanders and other wildlife.


Habitat, Contra Costa County
Coastal sand dunes habitat, Monterey County

Habitat, Marin County
Arboreal salamanders inhabit this urban backyard in Oakland, Alameda County

 
Arboreal salamanders inhabit barren, rocky Southeast Farallon Island
Arboreal salamanders inhabit barren, rocky Año Nuevo Island
 
Short Video and Audio
 


Click the picture to see a video of this Arboreal Salamander resting, then running.
 
Listen to this sub-adult Marin County Arboreal Salamander squeak two times.
(There are two high-pitched, bird-like squeaks with some rustling background noise.) The salamander squeaked several times when the log under which it was resting was lifted.
Sound and photo © Jonathan Hakim
   
Description
Size
Adults measure 2 1/4 - 4 inches long (5.7 - 10.1 cm) from snout to vent and up to 7 inches (18 cm) in total length.
Appearance
A medium sized plethodontid salamander which breathes through thin moist skin instead of lungs. Color is brown above with small cream to yellow spots. The number of spots varies with location - Sierra Nevada populations have weak spotting, Gabilan Mountains and Farallon Islands populations have large conspicuous spots. The venter is creamy white. The undersides of the tail and feet are dull yellow. Males have large triangular heads. Toe tips are expanded and squarish. Tail is prehensile, often coiled. Usually 15 costal grooves. Two nasolabial grooves. Young are dark, clouded with gray or brassy color. May squeak when caught. Capable of producing a painful bite.
Behavior
Lives in moist places on land. Active when soil moisture is high after the onset of fall rains, usually in November, to May. A sit-and-wait-predator, adults forage for small invertebrates and sometimes slender salamanders on the ground at night during wet weather. Adapted for climbing with long toes and rounded tail. Has been found up to 59 ft. (18 m) above the ground.
Diet
Eats a variety of small invertebrates and slender salamanders.
Reproduction
Breeding males have a heart-shaped mental gland. Females lay and brood eggs in summer in moist places, mostly in tree holes. Often large egg masses are laid with groups of salamanders. Young hatch fully formed.
Range
Endemic to California and northern Baja California. Occurs from Humboldt county, south along the coast and coast ranges into northern Baja California, and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from El Dorado County to madera County. Also found on South Farallon, Año Nuevo, and Catalina Islands.
Habitat
Lives in moist places on land, mainly in oak woodland, but also found in pine and oak forests in the Sierra Nevada and other dryer habitats, including coastal sand dunes. Also found on moist, mossy rock faces, and in urban yards and buildings. From sea level to 5,000 ft. (1,500 m).
Taxonomic Notes
The salamanders on South Farallon Island were recognized previously as the subspecies A. l. farallonensis - Farallon Salamander, because they are more heavily spotted than mainland salamanders (except for those found in the Gabilan Mountains of Monterey County.)
Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None

Taxonomy
Family Plethodontidae Lungless Salamanders
Genus Aneides Climbing Salamanders
Species


lugubris Arboreal Salamander
Original Description
Hallowell, 1849 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 4, p. 126

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
lugubris: Latin - gloomy, dark, possibly referring to dull coloration.

from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz

Alternate Names
None

Related or Similar California Salamanders
Speckled Black Salamander
Santa Cruz Black 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.

Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.

Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.

Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005.

Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.

Storer, Tracy I. A Synopsis of the Amphibia of California. University of Califonia Publications in Zoology Volume 27, The University of California Press, 1925.

Jones, Lawrence L. C. , William P. Leonard, Deanna H. Olson, editors. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, 2005.

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




 


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