Clouded salamander
| Clouded salamander | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Aneides |
| Species: | A. ferreus |
| Binomial name | |
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Aneides ferreus Cope, 1869 |
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The clouded salamander (Aneides ferreus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitat is temperate forests and it is probable that many nest in trees. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The clouded salamander can grow to about 5 inches (130 mm) total length. It is long and slim with relatively long legs, square ends to its toes and a prehensile tail. It has two naso-labial grooves joining its nostrils to its mouth and sixteen costal grooves down its flank. The upper side is pale grey variously blotched with gold, olive green or dull red. The juvenile has a brass-coloured streak down the center of its back.
The clouded salamander is found in the western United States at heights up to 1,700 metres (5,600 ft). Its range extends from the Columbia River southwards through the Cascade Mountains, along the Oregon coast to the northern tip of California in Del Norte County. It lives in forested areas favouring moist areas with few trees rather than dry dense stands. It hides under logs and rocks, under loose bark, in rotting logs and in crevices in rock and scree. It particularly favours rotting Douglas fir logs. It is often common in newly cleared areas with tree stumps and debris.
The clouded salamander feeds on small invertebrates. These are mainly woodlice, ants and beetles but also include flies, termites, mites, centipedes, millipedes, spiders and pseudoscorpions.
Breeding takes place in June and July with females laying clutches of nine to seventeen eggs, usually in chambers hollowed out in rotting logs. The larvae develop inside the eggs, emerging as juveniles in about two months, thus bypassing the free-living larval stage. One or both the parents may provide care for the eggs before they hatch.
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Wikipedia