Unknown species photo'd today...

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flyingSquirrel

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Photographed this species today at a local wetland area...was hoping somebody could help ID it.

Location: Puget Sound region, Snohomish County, Washington state
Size: large, estimated 6" +

My best guess is some sp. of Dicamptodon. I don't know much about salamanders/newts but looks like this is a display of neoteny?


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IMG_4827.JPG

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Probably Ambystoma gracile. Prefered habitat of Dicamptodon is cold,clear, rocky waters, which are usually mountain streams - never weedy ponds. They also normally nest under large rocks or logs in deep pools. Dicamptodon have their eyes directed forwards more, while Ambystoma they tend to be pointed upward and sideways. Ambystoma, being pond-breeders most of the time, have long gills, while Dicamptodon have very short ones. Neotenic A.gracile are known.
 
What I said on DB: It's a paedomorphic Ambystoma gracile.
 
frogeyes, thank you for teaching me those helpful details, and for the ID.
John, thank you as well for confirming the ID
 
FrogEyes said:
Probably Ambystoma gracile. Prefered habitat of Dicamptodon is cold,clear, rocky waters, which are usually mountain streams - never weedy ponds.
Click to expand...

John Clare very much proved this wrong last week when he netted 2 out of a large weedy roadside ditch fed by a SLOW moving silty stream in the redwoods.... Shocked the heck out of both of us!!
 
It's prefered habitat. They do still end up in slower waters. I would note that where you found them was likely downstream of more typical habitat. What is cold, fast and rocky in April may be a tepid trickle in July. Many of the cracks and crannies they are in later in the year are fairly silty. At this time of year, such 'marginal' habitats are probably even more hospitable since they're not as warm. I wouldn't bet on them being in that ditch by June!
 
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