AMPHIBIA: CAUDATA: AMBYSTOMATIDAE: Ambystoma

Ambystoma macrodactylum Baird, 1849

Long-toed salamander

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland. 

 
The specimen above is the central long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum columbianum) photographed near Moscow, Idaho. Like the western subspecies, it has an olive green dorsal stripe.

Range: Most of the populations of this species range from extreme southern Alaska and much of British Columbia south to northeastern California. A disjunct population is found far to the southwest of the rest of the range, in Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California.

Diagnosis:

Description:

Natural History: These are secretive, burrowing salamanders that are rarely seen except in the spring when they are near the surface or breeding in ponds. They take refuge under rotting logs, loose bark, large rocks, and other cover that provide a high humidity refuge.

Reproduction: Eggs are laid in clusters on reeds in still ponds during the spring. This illustration shows eggs from a pond just north of Moscow, Idaho, taken in March 1990. Egg laying may occur in ponds that are still largely frozen.

Taxonomy & Relationships:

Variation: Five subspecies are recognized: western long-toed salamander (Ambystoma m. macrodactylum); central long-toed salamander (A. m. columbianum); Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (A. m. croceum)--endangered; eastern long-toed salamander (A. m. krausei); and the southern long-toed salamander (A. m. sigillatum).

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen:

Literature:  Click on book to place order

Petranka, James. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN: 1-56098-828-2. NOT AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW.