AMPHIBIA: CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE: Aneides

Aneides lugubris Hallowell, 1849

Arboreal Salamander

Photo & text by Robert Sprackland. This specimen was photographed in coastal pine forest along 17-Mile Drive in Monterey, California in April 1999.

Range: Most of coastal mountain California, including the entire lower 80% of the state. Extralimital into western Baja California, Mexico.

Diagnosis: A large lungless salamander with a round tail, large dark eyes, and a plain or very indistinctly spotted dorsum. Grows to 10 cm./ 4.5 inches.

Description: The head is nearly round, with a blunt, wide snout. The eyes are large and black or dark maroon. Upper surfaces are chocolate brown with a pink tone, the pink predominating ventrally. The toes are square at their tips. Males have two enlarged teeth that protrude when the mouth is closed, but these generally require a lens to be visible.

Reproduction: Little information is available. Eggs are laid in tree hollows during the warmer months, where they are brooded by the female. Development occurs in the egg, with tiny terrestrial salamanders emerging.

Taxonomy & Relationships: The genus Aneides is broadly distributed in North America, with discontinuous ranges among species.  

Habitat: Found in a variety of environments, from under boards on beach sand dunes to hollow logs in pine forests, and under bark on a several species of trees. The major factor required is high relative humidity above 85%, and an ample supply of small arthropods for food.

Holotype:

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.

Stebbins, Robert. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN: 0-395-38253-X