Description: This dark colored salamander has a reddish-brown ragged edged stripe that runs along the top of the head to the tip of the tail with black or dark brown sides. It has a long body and tail and the belly is black with large white flecks. They have a long thin body and grow to 2.4 inches in snout–vent length and 4.7 inches in total length, though most individuals are smaller. They have four toes on the hind feet.
Habitat: The species' natural habitats are temperate forests of moist Douglas fir, maple, and red cedar woodlands in Oregon, to 3,000 feet. They are typically found in old growth habitat, associated with late-successional Douglas fir forests. However they have been found in earlier succession forest with larger logs and much downed woody debris. They are found in large diameter decayed logs. They prefer habitats that have a closed canopy. The species has also been found in a suburban landscape.
Range: The Oregon slender salamander is endemic to north-central Oregon, found particularly on the western slopes of the Cascade Range but also in some sites on the eastern slopes.
Diet: Specimens collected in Hidden Lake, Lane County, Oregon, had consumed collembolans, pseudoscorpions, mites, dipteran larvae and adults, spiders, snails, beetle larvae and adults, centipedes, and earthworms.
Reproduction: The species lays eggs that develop on land and hatch directly without a larval stage. Relatively little is known about the reproductive biology of this species, but it is known that they oviposit in the spring and females guard egg clutches. Eggs are not laid communally, as in many other species in the genus. Maximum clutch size is 10, and it takes 126 days, on average for the eggs to hatch, a relatively long period for the genus.
Status: Listed as Near Threatened because its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 20,695 km2, it occurs in close to ten threat-defined locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable.
DISCLAIMER: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
){kind=link}
){kind=link}