Species: Rhyacotriton cascadae

Cascade Torrent Salamander
Species

    For all species in the genus, mean SVL for the largest 10% of adults is between 5 and 6 cm.

    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Amphibia

    Order

    Caudata

    Family

    Rhyacotritonidae

    Genus

    Rhyacotriton

    Classification
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Amphibians - Salamanders
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Amphibia - Caudata - Rhyacotritonidae - Rhyacotriton - Good and Wake (1992) removed RHYACOTRITON from the family Dicamptodontidae and established it as the sole member of the family Rhyacotritonidae.

    For all species in the genus, mean SVL for the largest 10% of adults is between 5 and 6 cm.

    Short General Description
    A small salamander with an aquatic larval stage.
    Migration
    true - false - false
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Opportunistic. Larvae feed on aquatic invertebrates such as flatworms, annelids, snails, arachnids, crustaceans, and insects. Adults eat aquatic/semi-aquatic invertebrates, including beetles, stoneflies, snails, flies, amphipods, etc. (Nussbaum et al. 1983).
    Reproduction Comments
    Mean clutch size (based on yolked ovarian follicles) = 7.9 (Good and Wake 1992). Larval period lasts 4.5 years (Nussbaum and Tait 1977). Sexually mature 1.0-1.5 years after metamorphosis (Behler and King 1979; Nussbaum et al. 1983).
    Ecology Comments
    Nijhuis and Kaplan (1998) found that density in spring was 0.31-8.33 individuals (including immatures) per sq m; mean home range length over three months was 2.4 m (but long distance movements may not have been detected). <br><br>Adults are very sensitive to desiccation.
    Length
    12
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G3
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2002-03-29
    Global Status Last Changed
    2001-11-28
    Other Status

    NT - Near threatened

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.OR=S3&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 - West slope of the Cascade Mountains from just north of Mount Saint Helens, Skamania County, Washington, south to northeastern Lane County, Oregon (Good and Wake 1992).
    Global Range Code
    E
    Global Range Description
    5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102976