Species: Rhyacotriton cascadae
Cascade Torrent Salamander
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
For all species in the genus, mean SVL for the largest 10% of adults is between 5 and 6 cm.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Amphibia
Order
Caudata
Family
Rhyacotritonidae
Genus
Rhyacotriton
NatureServe
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.
Ecology and Life History
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
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G3
Global Status Last Reviewed
2002-03-29
Global Status Last Changed
2001-11-28
Other Status
NT - Near threatened
Distribution
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)