A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Hydromantes brunus - Limestone Salamander

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Red

Dot-locality Range Map

Adult, Mariposa County

Webbed hind foot

Adult, Mariposa County

Juvenile, Mariposa County

Habitat

Habitat, Mariposa County

Habitat overview, Mariposa County

Habitat, 1,500 ft., Mariposa County

Description

Size

Adults measure 2 - 3 inches long (5 - 7.5 cm) from snout to vent length.

Appearance

A small stocky salamander with webbed toes, nasolabial grooves, a flattened head and body, and 13 costal grooves. Toe tips of adpressed limbs overlap by 1.5 costal folds. Adults are a brownish color above with a pale ventral surface. Juveniles are yellowish green above, darkening with age. Males have an oval-shaped mental gland and upper jaw teeth.

Behavior and Natural History

A member of family Plethodontidae, the Plethodontid or Lungless Salamanders.
Lungless Salamanders breathe through their skin which requires them to live in damp environments on land and to move about on the ground only during times of high humidity. (In California, they do not inhabit streams or bodies of water, but they are capable of surviving for some time if they fall into water.)
Lungless salamanders are distinguished by their naso-labial grooves, which are vertical slits between the nostrils and upper lip that are lined with glands used in chemoreception. All California Lungless Salamanders lay eggs in moist places on land. The young hatch from the egg directly into a tiny terrestrial salamander with the same body form as an adult. (They do not hatch in the water and begin their lives as tiny swimming larvae breathing through gills, as occurs with other types of salamanders.)Little is known about this species. H. brunus is active during wet or rainy periods in fall, winter, and spring when temperatures are not exceedingly low, and inactive during extreme winter weather and during hot, dry periods in spring, summer, and fall. They might also be active in summer well below the surface where there is sufficient moisture - an adult was found active in a mine tunnel in July.

Uses its tail and webbed feet to assist in climbing. When threatened, this salamander has been observed coiling and rolling downhill to escape. A similar salamander, Hydromantes platycephalus, feeds by shooting out a very long sticky mushroom-like tongue very quickly to catch prey. You can see examples of this here.

Diet

Probably consumes a variety of invertebrates.

Reproduction and Young

Little is known about the breeding habits of this species. Reproduction is terrestrial, and eggs are most likely laid in deep moist talus or crevices in late spring, hatching in the summer, fully formed. This is a very hot, dry period, so the young would then remain underground until at least the following fall rains.

Range

Endemic to California. Found along the Merced River from Lake McClure to about 4 miles NE of Briceburg, Mariposa County. Also occurs along the Merced River tributaries including Bear Creek and its feeder creeks, south of Briceburg.

Habitat

H.brunus inhabits mossy limestone crevices and talus in the Grey Pine, Oak, Buckeye, Chaparral belt of the lower Merced River Canyon, typically on steep slopes. Has also been found in abandoned mine tunnels.

Taxonomic Notes

Discovered in 1952, H. brunus has always been considered a distinct taxon. It is one of only three species (thus far) of Hydromantes in the United States, all of which are endemic to California, including H. platycephalus, and H. shastae. The only other members of the genus Hydromantes (now called Speleomantes by some researchers) occur in Italy and southern France. They are the only plethodontid salamanders found outside of the Americas. Why Hydromantes is found only in Europe and California is still an amazing biogeographical mystery, even though it is now accepted that the two populations are different, but similar, genera.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

This salamander is listed as a threatened species by the state, due to its limited range and habitat, although there is no indication that their range or population density have decreased or changed significantly. But there have not been any discoveries of new populations in many years, either.

Taxonomy
Family	Plethodontidae	Lungless Salamanders
Genus	Hydromantes	Web-toed Salamanders
Species	brunus	Limestone Salamander
Original Description
Gorman, 1954 - Herpetologica, Vol. 10, p. 153 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Hydromantes: Greek - water/soothsayer or prophet brunus: Latin - brown, referring to the color of adults. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
None
Related California Salamanders
Shasta Salamander Mt. Lyell 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., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998. 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.

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.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	ST	Threatened
California Department of Fish and Game	DFG:FP	Fully Protected
Bureau of Land Management	S	Sensitive
USDA Forest Service	USFS:S	Sensitive
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks	G1 S1	Critically Imperiled
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List	IUCN:VU	Vulnerable

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