Olympic torrent salamander
The Olympic torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton olympicus) is a species of salamander in the family Rhyacotritonidae. This is a small salamander (up to 10 cm total length) that lives in clear, cold, mountain streams. It is medium to dark brown and may have a few small light spots on the sides and small dark spots on the tail; it is bright yellow on the belly, usually with some dark spots. Torrent salamanders typically have short snouts and relatively large eyes. As in other torrent salamanders, adult males have square-edged lobes behind the cloaca. These salamanders live at the edges of clear, cold, mountain streams; they can be abundant under gravel at stream edges and in the spray zones of waterfalls. During rainy seasons, they are occasionally found under objects on land away from streams.
| Olympic torrent salamander | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Rhyacotritonidae |
| Genus: | Rhyacotriton |
| Species: | R. olympicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhyacotriton olympicus (Gaige, 1917) | |
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Sources
- Hammerson, G. (2004). "Rhyacotriton olympicus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2004: e.T59437A11941548. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59437A11941548.en.