Species: Plethodon larselli
Larch Mountain Salamander
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Articles:
This article was originally published by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of its annual report Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Amphibia
Order
Caudata
Family
Plethodontidae
Genus
Plethodon
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
<p>Animals, Vertebrates - Amphibians - Salamanders</p>
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Amphibia - Caudata - Plethodontidae - Plethodon - See also Howard et al. (1983) for information on genetic variation.
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A small salamander.
Migration
<p>true - false - false - Even with this species' small distribution, at least four populations have been shown to be genetically distinct, arguing that there is little gene flow between populations (Howard et al. 1983).</p>
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds on a variety of invertebrates especially mites and collembolans. Diet of larger individuals is more varied and includes snails and earthworms, which are not eaten by juveniles (Nussbaum et al. 1983).
Reproduction Comments
Breeds mainly in fall. Eggs are laid in late winter-early spring. Clutch size is 2-12, average 7. Eggs hatch probably in about 4 months. Males are sexually mature in 3-3.5 years. Females deposit their first clutch at 4 years or older. Female reproductive cycle lasts 2 years or more.
Ecology Comments
Found in association with P. VEHICULUM in Washington and P. DUNNI in Oregon.
Length
10
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G3
Global Status Last Reviewed
2005-02-18
Global Status Last Changed
2001-11-09
Other Status
<p>NT - Near threatened</p>
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.OR=S2&US.WA=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
E - 5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles) - E - Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington and northern Oregon and discontinuously northward in the Cascades to central Washington (to at least Snoqualmie Pass-Kachess Lake area) (Leonard et al. 1993, Petranka 1998, Stebbins 2003). Elevational range extends to around 3,900 feet (Stebbins 2003).<br><br>The southern end of the range is roughly defined by the towns of Hood River and Troutdale, Oregon. In Washington, the species occurs in the Western Cascades Physiographic Province, with the main distribution along a 58-km stretch of the Columbia River Gorge; additional, isolated populations occur in the Cascade Range; documented in Clark, Skamania, Lewis, King, Klickitat and Kittitas Counties; population distribution within the range is patchy (Hallock and McAllister 2002). <br>
Global Range Code
E
Global Range Description
5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)