California Giant Salamander
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| California Giant Salamander | ||||||||||||||
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| Dicamptodon ensatus (Eschscholtz, 1833) |
The California Giant Salamander or Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) is a species of salamander in the Dicamptodontidae family. It is endemic to the United States.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, freshwater lakes, and freshwater marshes. The Pacific Giant Salamander is protected from killing or collecting under the Wildlife Act in British Columbia.
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[edit] Description
The adult California Giant Salamander can reach up 17-30.5 cm (6.7-12)inches in total length. Like all salamanders the California Giant Salamander has four toes on the front feet and five toes on the back feet.The California Giant Salamander's tail is around 40 percent of the total length of the salamander and is laterally compressed. The head, back, and sides of the salamander have a marbled or reticulate pattern of dark blotches on a light brown or brassy-colored background. They have a broad head with a shovel-like snout and a fold of skin across the throat called the gular fold. The eyes are medium in size and have a brass-flecked iris and a large black pupil.
[edit] Range
The California Giant Salamander is endemic to California. It is found in two possibly three isolated regions. You can find it in Mendocino County, into the coast ranges, Lake and Glenn counties, and San Francisco Bay. The other region is south of the San Francisco Bay from San Mateo County to southern Santa Cruz County. The California Giant Salamander doesn't appear in the East Bay. There is an unconfirmed sight record from Big Sur, Monterey County. It is also found in parts of British Colombia. Some in northern Mexico.
[edit] Neotenes
Some California Giant Salamander larva continue to grow into an adult and become sexually mature without losing their external gills this process is called neoteny. Neoteny is common in the California Giant Salamander in British Colombia. Adult-sized neotenes have a uniform brown coloring on their heads, sides, and backs they also keep their external gills.
[edit] Source
- Hammerson, G. & Bury, B. 2004. Dicamptodon ensatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
- Blood, Donald A. "Pacific Giant Salamander." 1 Mar. 1993. Province of British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 3 Mar. 2008 <http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/salamander.pdf>.
