Southern Torrent Salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus)

Created: October 18th, 2017 - 07:28 PM
Last Modified: October 18th, 2017 - 07:28 PM Entered by: Nick Van Gilder
Record 289189

Country: United States		State: California	County: Humboldt County	Time: 2016-07-31 13:20:00
Qty: 1	Age: Metamorph	Sex: --	Method: Rock flipping	Habitat: Seep in secondary growth redwood forest
Body Temperature: -----		Air Temperature: 60.00F	Ground Temperature: -----	Humidity: -----
Sky Conditions: Few clouds		Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous	Elevation: 120.00ft	Barometric Pressure: -----

Notes

This near-metamorphosis aberrant Rhyacotriton variegatus immediately stood out as different when I encountered it. Several herpetologists I contacted have had differing opinions as to what was going on with this animal's coloration.

Vouchers

Comments

Posted by Nick Van Gilder on Oct 22, 2017 at 10:14 PM

Thanks Jeff! I'm not sure that's the case, as the animal was found within a seep that holds a fairly healthy population of otherwise quite normal looking Southern Torrents. The best idea that I had was that it may have been axanthic, since it lacked such a large amount of yellow pigment.

Posted by Jeff Nordland on Oct 20, 2017 at 06:39 PM

Very interesting record Nick! Maybe you found a new species?