<<Back to Northwest Herps This is a small to medium sized salamander (up to10 cm total length) that is brown with small whitish flecks on the sides, and has a broad reddish or yellowish dorsal stripe; the belly is red or salmon-pink.
The Larch Mountain salamander occurs in the Cascade Mountains of southern Washington and northern Oregon. In Washington, it occurs from the Columbia River Gorge to just north of Snoqualmie Pass.
Most of its life is spent in the subterranean environment and it is surface-active only about 20 to 90 days a year, depending on location and conditions. Surface activity is triggered whenever moisture and temperature regimes are appropriate, primarily in the spring and fall. In the Columbia River Gorge this tends to be mid-February through late-May and in the fall from late September through late-November. In the Cascade Range, the activity period is approximately April through late June and late September to late November. Ideal conditions are when temperatures are between 4 degrees and 14 degrees C and soil is saturated to a depth of about 30 cm Breeding takes place in the autumn and spring months.
These salamanders live in shady, moss-covered talus slopes and in cave entrances at low to mid elevations.
Larch Mountain salamanders are most common on mossy talus slopes, but also occur in other habitats. They are active during the spring and fall, but retreat deep into the talus during the summer and winter.
These salmanders occur in patches of appropriate habitat, and appear to be very sensitive to availability of cool, moist, shady talus habitats. Disturbance of these habitats can cause local extinction of populations.
Aubry et al. (1987), Brodie (1970), Crisafulli (1999), Herrigton & Larsen (1987), Petranka (1998), Trippe et al. (2001).
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/herp/amphwash.htm |
| Species Details |
Size: 10 cm total length
Regions: Cascade Mountains of southern Washington and northern Oregon. Washington, it occurs from the Columbia River Gorge to just north of Snoqualmie Pass.
Breeding: Breeding takes place in the autumn and spring months.
Alerts: Any ground-disturbing activity or land use that changes the moisture regimes and permeability of inhabited rocky substrates, such as overstory tree removal and gravel removal, may threaten populations. Chemical applications (i.e., herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers) may affect Larch Mountain Salamanders directly due to toxicity or indirectly due to loss of prey-base.
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